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

2. What elevates Rumi's poems beyond a simple collection of ideas?
(a) His references to other cultures.
(b) Rich imagery.
(c) His use of diagrams.
(d) Confounding words.

3. What post did Rumi inherit?
(a) Sheik.
(b) Treasurer.
(c) King.
(d) Scribe.

4. What is one of the central teachings of Rumi?
(a) The cultivation of love.
(b) The desire for power.
(c) The elimination of sin.
(d) The search for eternal youth.

5. As the bond of friendship that Rumi writes about between a frog and its animal friend grows, the two animals find that their wish for each other's company:
(a) Diminishes over time.
(b) Is discouraged by their own kind.
(c) Is laughed at by others.
(d) Turns into a need.

Short Answer Questions

1. Over time, what has Coleman Barks been able to do with Rumi's poems?

2. When the man in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2 accidentally soils himself, what does his host and friend do?

3. When was Rumi born?

4. Who were Rumi's three main friends who inspired much of his poetry?

5. In this book, the term "nafs" refers to what?

(see the answer key)

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