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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Rilke's poem, who did the prodigal son feel bound by?
(a) Those who disparaged him publicly.
(b) Those who hated him.
(c) Those who loved him.
(d) Those who respected him.

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

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

4. In Rilke's poem, what do bird feeders represent?
(a) A love for one's child.
(b) A romantic and passionate love.
(c) A relationship with God.
(d) Ignorance of the real world.

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

6. In the second stanza of the first elegy in Book 1, Chapter 7, "A ____ rolled toward you."
(a) Springtime.
(b) Wave.
(c) God.
(d) Wheel.

7. What does the layout of the page show the reader about modern poetry?
(a) Modern poets think about the printed layout of their work.
(b) Modern poets put more emphasis on looks than intelligence.
(c) Modern poets don't care about organization.
(d) Modern poets are conceited.

8. In the first elegy, what happens to the images as the poem continues?
(a) They grow more spacious and remain descriptive.
(b) They become more confusing and deluded.
(c) They become more reluctant to reveal information to the reader.
(d) They become less descriptive.

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

10. According to Rilke, what does Orpheus invigorate?
(a) Singing.
(b) Thinking.
(c) Feeling.
(d) Writing.

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

12. In what years were the "Uncollected Poems" written?
(a) 1913-1918.
(b) 1926-1928.
(c) 1910-1916.
(d) 1990-1995.

13. In the case of those poems with no titles, what is used as a reference?
(a) The last line.
(b) The first line.
(c) The narrator's name.
(d) The subject.

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

15. What is the poem about faces called?
(a) "The Bird Feeders."
(b) "Faceless."
(c) "Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge."
(d) "Faces."

Short Answer Questions

1. What is "For the Sake of a Single Poem" about?

2. In one paragraph in the poem about faces, what has a woman fallen into?

3. What does the poet become frustrated by in "Sonnets to Orpheus"?

4. In the elegy, Rilke wonders if an angel will hear _______.

5. In Book 1, Chapter 5, what does Rilke intentionally use to describe a short scene from real life?

(see the answer keys)

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