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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which family member does Rilke dedicate a poem to?
(a) Father.
(b) Mother.
(c) Sister.
(d) Brother.

2. What is the title of Book 1, Chapter 3?
(a) "New Poems II."
(b) "Myth."
(c) "Good Poems II."
(d) "Black Cat."

3. What did the women in Rilke's poem about ancient women overcome?
(a) Restrictive roles.
(b) Pressures of education.
(c) Bad reputations.
(d) Raising children.

4. Which animal is described as being a restless captive?
(a) Pigeon.
(b) Gazelle.
(c) Panther.
(d) Swan.

5. What name is used in Rilke's poetry that has been passed down through Greek tragedies?
(a) Eurydice.
(b) Creon.
(c) Apollo.
(d) Alcestis.

6. What is the title of Book 1, Chapter 2?
(a) "Ancient Women."
(b) "New Poems."
(c) "These Animals."
(d) "Old Poems."

7. What does the swan symbolize?
(a) Angels.
(b) Family.
(c) Anger.
(d) Fidelity.

8. What is the translation of "Black Cat," as shown in the translated version of the poem?
(a) Schare Catz.
(b) Schwarze Katze.
(c) Schart Kazte.
(d) Schwartze Kaze.

9. What follows from "I have my dead"?
(a) And I want to die.
(b) And I have let them go.
(c) And I let them live.
(d) And I keep them close.

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

11. What does the author express in "Requiem for a Friend"?
(a) Grief.
(b) Excitement.
(c) Happiness.
(d) Anger.

12. Which word is associated with the women described in Rilke's poem about the Greek women?
(a) Unsuccessful.
(b) Unmarried.
(c) Homosexual.
(d) Bed-ridden.

13. In Greek mythology, what did the sun readily take on the guise of?
(a) Church.
(b) Living man.
(c) Worshippers.
(d) Wind.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Rilke describe the gazelle in the poem?

2. In the poem about the abnormal women, which stanza is the longest?

3. According to the poem about Lord in Book 1, Chapter 1, what can be found in all things in life?

4. Who is described as being "like a thief climbing in my window"?

5. What of the following are not themes in Rilke's poems in Book 1, Chapter 2?

(see the answer keys)

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