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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. Who does Rilke say is incapable of such loving as he calls for?
(a) Women.
(b) Religious people.
(c) Virgins.
(d) Young people.

2. What does the commentator say was Rilke's mode of exploration during "the long periods between his well-known great creative bursts of energy"?
(a) Painting.
(b) Sculpting.
(c) Letter-writing.
(d) Teaching.

3. Rilke writes in his letters, "Why have they made our sex _______, instead of making it the place for the festival of our competency?"
(a) Dangerous.
(b) Carefree.
(c) Loving.
(d) Homeless.

4. In what year did Rilke write the "Woman's Lament" poems?
(a) 1911.
(b) 1865.
(c) 1925.
(d) 1935.

5. Rilke writes in one letter, "Almost everything ______ is difficult, and everything is _______."
(a) Love.
(b) Sensual.
(c) Sexual.
(d) Serious.

Short Answer Questions

1. Rilke writes in one letter, "At bottom ______ can help anyone else in life."

2. The commentator concludes the introduction to Rilke's love poetry in saying, "Rilke's poetry is somewhat precious and even _______."

3. What does Rilke write in Part V of "The Seven Phallic Poems" has "weakened you and me"?

4. In a very short untitled poem, Rilke writes, "The voices warned me so I _____."

5. In one untitled poem of "Rilke's Poems on Other Difficulties," Rilke writes, "Play the ____, the single ones, quickly and you..."

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the imagery and symbolism in the poems "From the Cycle: Nights" and "Force of Gravity."

2. In the untitled poems following "The Lovers," what imagery does the poet use?

3. What reference does Rilke use to the god Hermes in The Seven Phallic Poems?

4. What sexual elements are undertaken in The Seven Phallic Poems?

5. What does Rilke say regarding the young and marriage in his letters?

6. What does the commentator say regarding Rilke's feminism in the Prologue?

7. Discuss the subjects of "Greek Love Talk" and "The Lovers." What imagery is used?

8. How does Rilke regard the difficulty of sex in his opening letters?

9. What does Rilke say of questions and answers in his first essay?

10. What does Rilke write of using the metaphor of water, song, and play in his untitled poems?

(see the answer keys)

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