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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book 1, The Tavern : Chapter 2, Desire & New Silk.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Over time, Coleman Barks' feelings about the messages in Rumi's poetry have what?
(a) Changed.
(b) Remained the same.
(c) Grown in confusion.
(d) Grown in contempt.

2. What main lesson does Rumi impart through his poem about a man who wants a tattoo in Book 1, Chapter 2?
(a) A man better have enough money before he goes about desiring frivolous things.
(b) Tattoos are a waste of time and money.
(c) When embarking upon a task, one must be prepared for the associated pain.
(d) A person must listen to one's own heart rather than the babble of others.

3. In the poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, where several men fall in love with the same woman, her physical beauty is really a representation of what?
(a) False hope.
(b) Spiritual beauty.
(c) The illusion of happiness.
(d) The passage of time.

4. Relative to Rumi, who was Shams Tabriz?
(a) Companion.
(b) Employer.
(c) Cousin.
(d) Brother.

5. Coleman Barks is famous for what?
(a) Teaching a Rumi poetry class at Colorado State University.
(b) Translating Rumi's work in to Russian.
(c) Translating Rumi's work in to English.
(d) Teaching a Rumi poetry class at Baylor University.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Coleman Barks first started reading Rumi's works, what types of words turned him away?

2. According to a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, what happens when you put pond water into a larger body of water?

3. Saladin of Zarkub was what?

4. In Rumi's string metaphor, the string connects two animals by their what?

5. How did others regard Shams?

(see the answer key)

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