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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. In the seventh of "The Seven Phallic Poems," what does the poet write that his "semen climbs gladly like"?

2. In one of the untitled love poems, Rilke writes, "What fields are fragrant as your ______?"

3. In Part IV of "The Seven Phallic Poems," the poet writes, "You don't know ______, with your diffidence."

4. In Rilke's one-line poem of the love poems, he writes, "This is the mute-mouthed mounting of the ______."

5. Whose influence helped to expand Rilke's vision, according to Mood?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In the fourth and fifth of The Seven Phallic Poems, what imagery does the poet use for climax?

4. What influences does Mood speak of on Rilke's writing in his introduction to "Poems of Other Difficulties"?

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

6. What are the subjects discussed in the "Woman's Lament" poems?

7. What does Rilke write of "silence" in his untitled poems?

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

9. How does Rilke suggest sexuality should be regarded in terms of innocence? What does he say of children?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Mood's analysis of Rilke's epitaph. How does Mood dissect the poem into pieces, looking at each segment as it interlocks with the next? How does he view the translating of the words?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss "Magic" and "Force of Gravity" in terms of subject, theme, symbolism, imagery, and structure.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss John L. Mood's interpretation of Rilke as a writer. How did Mood first encounter Rilke? What drew him to the poet's writing? In what era did Mood become fascinated with Rilke and why?

(see the answer keys)

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