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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Clear.
(c) Solid.
(d) Humorous.

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

3. Many of Rumi's poems reveal that life is not two-dimensional; on the contrary, it is very:
(a) Flat.
(b) Complex.
(c) Unfair.
(d) Boring.

4. In the poem "Meadowsounds," Rumi devotes two lines to:
(a) Shams.
(b) Ayaz.
(c) Hallej.
(d) Husam.

5. For Coleman Barks, part of the experience of grasping Rumi's poems is what?
(a) Scientific.
(b) Impersonal.
(c) Analytical.
(d) Transcendental.

6. In a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3 about Ayaz the courtier, what command does the king give?
(a) To bring him the costliest treasure.
(b) To destroy a precious object.
(c) To repair a damaged piece of furniture.
(d) To make him laugh.

7. After Shams went away the first time, how did he return?
(a) Rumi promised a promotion if he came back.
(b) He came back via boat.
(c) He accompanied a group of nomads.
(d) Rumi sent out searchers to bring him back.

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

9. Most of Rumi's poems presented in this book exhibit what form?
(a) Light free verse.
(b) Strict syllable counts.
(c) Formal repeating pattern.
(d) Rhyming verse.

10. When the animal soul Rumi writes about is in proper balance, it:
(a) Brings about defeat.
(b) Supports the human.
(c) Disappears.
(d) Endangers the human.

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

12. What prominent themes are found in much of Rumi's work?
(a) Hate and separation.
(b) Love and unity.
(c) Marriage and divorce.
(d) Travel and loss.

13. How many additional poems were translated and included in the New Expanded Edition?
(a) 58.
(b) 92.
(c) 81.
(d) 23.

14. According to a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2, what happens when you put pond water into a larger body of water?
(a) The original water disappears.
(b) The larger body of water is enriched.
(c) The water molecules are still separate.
(d) The pond mourns its loss.

15. In some of his poems, Rumi refers to religious figures:
(a) Only that he knows personally.
(b) Only from his faith.
(c) From fiction.
(d) From different faiths.

Short Answer Questions

1. The poem "On Being A Lover" is written in what format?

2. In the end, how does the King regard Ayaz in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3?

3. 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:

4. In a poem entitled "Rough Metaphors," Rumi asserts that a lover's reverence is often sheltered in:

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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