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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. At the close of the sixth letter, how does Rilke tell the young poet to be?
2. How does Rilke note that the future change in the role of women affects love?
3. In whose handwriting does the poem Rilke enclosed with his seventh letter appear?
4. In what year does Rilke write the fifth letter?
5. What famous author does Rilke reference in letter eight?
Short Essay Questions
1. Rilke indicates that humans have distanced themselves from the spiritual realm, from God, and from each other. How has this distancing occurred?
2. 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"?
3. How does Rilke respond to the young poet's expression of fear that the young poet has lost God?
4. What can be inferred about the mental and emotional state of the young poet from Rilke's reply in letter six?
5. What is Rilke's definition of love?
6. What can be inferred about the young poet's feelings toward his own solitude from Rilke's seventh letter?
7. Why does Rilke advise the young poet "to be lonely and attentive when one is sad" in letter eight?
8. What does Rilke say about fear?
9. 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?
10. Rilke says that young people can't understand love. What reason does he give?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
What are Rilke's views on gender roles? How does Rilke view gender and its construction?
Essay Topic 2
Throughout the letters, and especially in letter eight, Rilke suggests that people are not truly living their lives--that their experiences are dulled from familiarity and security. What type of living is Rilke advocating? What is this type of living like?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the apparent contradiction between Rilke's separate emphases on solitude and meaningful sexual union with other human beings.
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This section contains 771 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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