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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following feelings is not experienced by the poet in the first elegy of Book 1, Chapter 7?

2. Which of the following is most unique to Rilke?

3. How many parts is "Uncollected Poems" divided into?

4. In I-25, how does Rilke refer to a female character?

5. How many poems are in Book 1, Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is "The Prodigal Son" about?

2. What allusions does Rilke use in his poems, especially in the poem "Ariel"?

3. What does Rilke mean when he refers to "pampered favorites"?

4. What is the distinction between a poem and an elegy?

5. Describe "To Music."

6. How does Rilke give in to tradition while writing, as exemplified in his elegies?

7. Which elegy is the most emotional and why?

8. Why do you think that only some poems have titles?

9. What types of fears does Rilke speak to in "Fears"?

10. How does Rilke create a dramatic tone in his sonnets?

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

Why do you think Orpheus is so important to Rilke? How do you know that Orpheus is so important to Rilke? What literary devices are used in Rilke's references to Orpheus? What does the importance of Orpheus to Rilke say about poet?

Essay Topic 3

What is the message of "For the Sake of a Single Poem"? What literary devices are used in the poem, and what effect do they have?

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