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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Rumi's short-story format found in some of his poems is characterized by:
(a) Bizarre characters.
(b) A complete, self-contained story.
(c) A mystical, mysterious story.
(d) Angelic teachers.

2. 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) The passage of time.
(c) Spiritual beauty.
(d) The illusion of happiness.

3. In the poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, about a man who wants a tattoo, what dilemma does he face?
(a) His wife disapproves of tattoos.
(b) He has no money for one.
(c) Tattoos are considered evil.
(d) He regrets his decision upon feeling the pain.

4. In the poems where Rumi includes a frog as one of the main characters, there is a deep friendship that develops between this frog and a:
(a) Bird.
(b) Cat.
(c) Fish.
(d) Mouse.

5. Are Rumi's friends mentioned directly in his poems?
(a) It is impossible to tell.
(b) No, in none of them.
(c) Yes, in all of them.
(d) Only in some.

6. Before responding to the king's command in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3, what does Ayaz do?
(a) Consults with the King's daughter.
(b) Prays to God for guidance.
(c) Notices how at least thirty other men respond to the command.
(d) Reads at least forty books to learn how others handled the situation.

7. When was the New Expanded Edition of this book published?
(a) 1980.
(b) 1995.
(c) 2000.
(d) 1965.

8. 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) Is laughed at by others.
(b) Diminishes over time.
(c) Is discouraged by their own kind.
(d) Turns into a need.

9. In many of Rumi's poems, not only in Book 1, Chapter 2, but throughout the whole book, his distinction between "me" and "you" is what?
(a) Vague.
(b) Humorous.
(c) Solid.
(d) Clear.

10. In the book, Coleman Barks is the author of what?
(a) Conclusion.
(b) Chapter Three.
(c) Introduction.
(d) Appendix.

11. In the end, where does the Caliph of a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2 send the mysterious, beautiful woman from the city his men have invaded?
(a) Back to the captain.
(b) To a monastery.
(c) Back to her family.
(d) To another city.

12. Who is Coleman Barks?
(a) Photographer.
(b) Scholar.
(c) Satirist.
(d) Psychologist.

13. Many of Rumi's poems are so personal that they help readers reconnect to what?
(a) Their emotional centers.
(b) Childhood notions.
(c) Their analytical sides.
(d) Practical ideas.

14. Rumi's poems focus on what aspect of life?
(a) Life's sorrows.
(b) Life after death.
(c) Imaginary life.
(d) Inner life.

15. Rumi's works are deeply:
(a) Irreverent.
(b) Humorous.
(c) Emotional.
(d) Sorrowful.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Rumi's father teach him?

2. Rumi indicates that people who have blind faith are following this path through what?

3. Rumi uses the metaphor of a string between two animals to represent what?

4. What prominent themes are found in much of Rumi's work?

5. In the poems about an unlikely friendship between two different animals, one of them being a frog, these two animals have very different what?

(see the answer keys)

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