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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book 1, The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke : Chapter 4, Requiem.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the name of the last poem in Book 1, Chapter 3?
(a) "Heaven in Glory."
(b) "Fame in Glory."
(c) "Buddha in Glory."
(d) "Buddha in Faith."

2. In "Requiem for a Friend," which of the following is left unclear?
(a) The feelings of the narrator for the person who died.
(b) The narrative character's gender.
(c) The narrative character's friend's name.
(d) The narrator's thoughts on traveling.

3. Which poem has the following line: "Then all at once the messenger is there"?
(a) "Black Cat."
(b) "Alcestis."
(c) "The Flamingos."
(d) "Archaic Torso of Apollo."

4. What is the main difference between the English and German poems?
(a) The German poems are completely different and impossible to translate to English.
(b) The translation uses weaker description.
(c) The German poems rhyme better than the translation.
(d) The translation has a different message.

5. What is the annexation of Bohemia compared to in the introduction?
(a) Hitler's reign.
(b) The relationship between America and Canada.
(c) American rule of Native Americans.
(d) British rule of Ireland.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the German 'Angstlicher' referring to?

2. Which word best describes Rilke in the second stanza of "I am the Anxious One'?

3. Which word is associated with the women described in Rilke's poem about the Greek women?

4. According to the poet, what is the main concern of the living?

5. Who might find the introduction before the poems most informative?

(see the answer key)

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