View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is a result of the discrepancy in translation in "I am the Anxious One"?

2. What does the author express in "Requiem for a Friend"?

3. Which adjective best describes both of the poems about the human condition in Book 1, Chapter 2?

4. What name is used in Rilke's poetry that has been passed down through Greek tragedies?

5. Which of the following is the first poem in Book 1, Chapter 4?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it significant for Rilke to write about the sun in "Archaic Torso of Apollo"?

2. Describe Rainer Marie Rilke's background.

3. How does the author change from the first stanza to the second in "I am the Anxious One"?

4. What is the classical theme that Rilke presents in both "Alcestis" and "Archaic Torso of Apollo"?

5. What does Rilke proclaim in "I am the Anxious One"?

6. Why is the "City of Time" a complex translation?

7. How does Rilke honor ancient Greeks?

8. What is the significance of the women standing in their doorways in "Requiem for a Friend"?

9. Why is the first line in the poem about Alcestis significant?

10. How does Rilke describe death in "Requiem for a Friend"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance behind the organization of the poems? How are they organized and why? Does this contribute to the quality of the reading or the message of the poems?

Essay Topic 2

How does religion influence Rilke? Is it positive or negative as an influence? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

What are the consequences of translating Rilke's poems from German to English? What is lost in translation? Is anything gained? Why or why not? Give one specific example.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 675 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample