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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. From where is the seventh letter written?
(a) Athens, Greece.
(b) Paris, France.
(c) Bremen, Germany.
(d) Rome, Italy.

2. What does Rilke say is wrong with men?
(a) Men are too dominant.
(b) Men are too focused on the physical.
(c) Men undervalue what they love.
(d) Men oppress women.

3. In letter eight, what does Rilke tell the young poet he must be careful with?
(a) Names.
(b) Thoughts.
(c) Sadnesses.
(d) Prayers.

4. Rilke tells the young poet that in regard to his sickness, he is a sick man, a convalescent, and what else?
(a) A shaman.
(b) An illness.
(c) A medicine.
(d) A doctor.

5. What does Rilke say about "the dragons of our lives"?
(a) That they may in fact be princesses.
(b) That they should be cast out of our lives.
(c) That they are necessary to make us strong.
(d) That they can be slain.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the primary topic of the eighth letter?

2. Rilke says that as time passes, women will stop doing what?

3. Who does Rilke say in the seventh letter cannot understand love?

4. How does Rilke note that the future change in the role of women affects love?

5. How long has Rilke been in the city from which he writes the fifth letter?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Rilke mean when, in letter seven, he says that in the future, femininity will not be "merely an opposite of the masculine, but. something in itself"?

2. What is Rilke's definition of love?

3. Rilke indicates that humans have distanced themselves from the spiritual realm, from God, and from each other. How has this distancing occurred?

4. In letter six, Rilke encourages the young poet to maintain what he calls "a child's wise incomprehension" rather than joining in the "defensiveness and disdain" that are shared by the masses. What does he mean by this?

5. In letter five, Rilke comments on Rome and says that the first few days one is in Rome have "an oppressively sad effect" because everything in Rome is old and looking backward toward the past. How does this sentiment reflect Rilke's life philosophies as he has expressed them thus far in the book?

6. What can be inferred about the young poet's feelings toward his own solitude from Rilke's seventh letter?

7. Rilke comments on the young poet's profession and compares the young poet's profession to other professions. What is Rilke's general idea about professions?

8. Why does Rilke advise the young poet "to be lonely and attentive when one is sad" in letter eight?

9. What can be inferred about the mental and emotional state of the young poet from Rilke's reply in letter six?

10. How does Rilke respond to the young poet's expression of fear that the young poet has lost God?

(see the answer keys)

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