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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Rilke send to the young poet in reply to the poet's first letter?
(a) A list of potential publishers.
(b) A letter and the poet's poems.
(c) Money.
(d) A volume of Rilke's poetry.

2. In the first letter, what does Rilke cite as the most disruptive hindrance to the young poet's progress?
(a) Non-artistic work.
(b) Drinking.
(c) Looking for others to answer the poet's own personal questions.
(d) Romantic entanglements.

3. What does the young poet write about in his third letter to Rilke that Rilke mentions in his letter back to the young poet?
(a) The works of William Shakespeare.
(b) The works of Jens Peter Jacobsen.
(c) His first publication.
(d) His decision to become a sculptor.

4. What does the young poet request in his third letter to Rilke?
(a) Suggestions for further reading.
(b) Copies of Rilke's books.
(c) Advice on writing sonnets.
(d) A list of publishers to whom the poet can send his work.

5. What does Rilke tell the young poet about irony?
(a) Irony should never be used.
(b) Irony should only be used for humor.
(c) Irony should be liberally used.
(d) Irony should be sparingly used.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rilke challenges the young poet to ask himself a question regarding his writing. What is that question?

2. What is Rilke's salutation at the end of the first letter?

3. What does Rilke enclose with his third letter to the young poet?

4. What does Rilke say about everything that is serious?

5. What is Rilke's primary criticism of the young poet's writing in the first letter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that physical pleasure is not bad, but that physical pleasure is often "misuse[d] and squander[ed]"?

2. At the end of letter four, Rilke mentions the young poet's new profession. What is this profession?

3. Rilke places emphasis on the importance of solitude. Why is solitude so important?

4. What reason does Rilke give for advising the young poet against writing love poems?

5. What does Rilke mean when, in letter four, he says that man "might be more reverent toward his fruitfulness, which is but one, whether it seems mental or physical..."?

6. What does Rilke claim is more permanent than human life?

7. What does Rilke mean when, in the fourth letter, he tells the young poet to "live" his unanswered questions?

8. What does Rilke mean when he says in letter three that sex "is not sufficiently human, [but] is only male"?

9. What can be inferred about Rilke's health from letters two and three?

10. What type of writing does Rilke advocate for?

(see the answer keys)

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