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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the poems about an unlikely friendship between two different animals, one of them being a frog, these two animals have very different what?
(a) Life spans.
(b) Environmental needs.
(c) Names.
(d) Sizes.

2. At times, God appears in Rumi's poems as a presence and at other times God is compared to:
(a) The Judge.
(b) The Tempter.
(c) The Friend.
(d) The Professor.

3. What happens when the Caliph meets a beautiful, mysterious woman from the city his men have invaded, in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 2?
(a) The woman attacks him.
(b) One of his men attacks him.
(c) He regrets his actions.
(d) He falls in love with her.

4. The poem "On Being A Lover" is written in what format?
(a) Diary entry of a man who has lost his lover.
(b) Song of lament by a woman who has lost her lover.
(c) Recollection by an old man of his younger years.
(d) Question and answer session between a man and a woman.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Are Rumi's friends mentioned directly in his poems?

2. In addition to being a religious leader, Rumi was a what?

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

4. 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?

5. When the animal soul Rumi writes about is in proper balance, it:

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways does God appear in Rumi's poetry?

2. Are Rumi's poems emotional or analytical?

3. Briefly explain Rumi's metaphor of sugar and vinegar.

4. Describe the "short story" model Rumi uses for many of his poems.

5. With regards to beauty, what important connection does Rumi infer when he references a beautiful woman in the poem about a city being invaded by men driven by sexual desire?

6. How is Coleman Barks associated with Rumi?

7. What lessons are found within the poem "Cry Out In Your Weakness?"

8. Who were Rumi's three best friends, and how did he regard each?

9. What is the poet's message about friendship in his writings about a frog and a mouse?

10. What makes Rumi's poems emotionally well integrated?

(see the answer keys)

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