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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 introducing Rilke's love poetry, the commentator notes that the poet's sexual and sensual undertones are mostly overlooked because of the striking impact of what?

2. The translator claims that the poems in "Rilke's Poems on Love" deserve to take their place alongside whose great love poems?

3. Rilke writes in one untitled poem, "Like the _____ of quickly grown-up girls / one braids differently."

4. What does Rilke comment in the excerpt from the Introduction that Eros "cannot be"?

5. Mood notes in his introduction to Rilke's poetry that the poet was "in no way an _______, nor in his life."

Short Essay Questions

1. What metaphors does Rilke use for a woman's womb in The Seven Phallic Poems?

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

3. What is the poet writing about in "The Poet Praises"?

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

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

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

7. How does death intermingle with sex in The Seven Phallic Poems? How does childhood?

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

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

10. What happens when one gives oneself completely over to love, according to the poet?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Rilke's writing in terms of the themes of "patience," "experience," and "youth." What metaphors and symbols does he use to approach these topics?

Essay Topic 2

What is the subject and theme of "Mausoleum"? What mythological allusion does the poet use in this poem? What structural components stand out in this poem?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Rilke's relationship to Christianity. How does the poet view Christianity and its stance on sexuality? In what other ways does Rilke speak of religion?

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