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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Each elegy is named with ___________________.
(a) A letter.
(b) The name of a fictional character.
(c) A keyword.
(d) A number.

2. How many elegies are contained in Chapter 7?
(a) 4.
(b) 10.
(c) 8.
(d) 14.

3. What is the name of the poem that suggests that even going back to ancient times, there was hustle and bustle?
(a) "To Holderlin."
(b) "Ariel."
(c) "Straining so hard...."
(d) "To Music."

4. How is "To Music" written?
(a) In brief phrases.
(b) In one-word lines.
(c) In short paragraphs.
(d) In long paragraphs.

5. In the third poem in "Sonnet to Orpheus," who are the three basic characters?
(a) The god, the man, the animal.
(b) The song, the god, the mortal man.
(c) The animal, the song, the mortal man.
(d) The diaphonous girl, the god, the song.

6. According to Rilke's poem, how did the prodigal son grow up?
(a) Unappreciatively.
(b) Mistreated.
(c) Fearful.
(d) Well-loved.

7. In the poem about faces, what do vast numbers of things appear to be?
(a) Heavy.
(b) Shallow.
(c) Light.
(d) Infinite.

8. In Rilke's poem, what type of activity is feeding birds?
(a) Good.
(b) Forgiving.
(c) Pointless.
(d) Mean-spirited.

9. What is the subject of sonnet II-8?
(a) Diaphonous girl.
(b) Childhood playmates.
(c) Orpheus and the lyre.
(d) Anger.

10. Who was the Greek mistress of the elegiac verse form?
(a) Elegis.
(b) Legise.
(c) Elegais.
(d) Elega.

11. What is markedly distinct about "To Music"?
(a) It rhymes in both English and German.
(b) It rhymes only in English.
(c) It does not rhyme in either English or German.
(d) It rhymes only in German.

12. In what year was Book 1, Chapter 5 written?
(a) 1910.
(b) 1905.
(c) 1915.
(d) 1912.

13. How does Rilke make up for writing in generalized poetic form?
(a) He introuces new characters randomly.
(b) He varies the tone from line to line.
(c) He creates dynamic settings.
(d) He varies line length.

14. Who is Rilke describing with the following line: "Praising is what matters! He was summoned for that"?
(a) Hermes.
(b) Zeus.
(c) Orpheus.
(d) Apollo.

15. Which of the following is contained in the appendix of Book 1, Chapter 7?
(a) Enitrely new poems.
(b) An index of themes in the elegies.
(c) Original drafts.
(d) A glossary and a map.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the poem in which the narrator is lying in bed, how many flights above ground is he or she?

2. In the first elegy, what happens to the images as the poem continues?

3. Which of the following does Rilke use in his elegies to move readers?

4. The "diaphonous girl" appears to be a part of __________.

5. According to Rilke's suggestion, which of the following should be used to remember Orpheus?

(see the answer keys)

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