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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. Rumi uses the metaphor of a string between two animals to represent what?
(a) Secret connections.
(b) Imprisonment.
(c) Selective hearing.
(d) Confusion.

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

3. In a poem entitled "Rough Metaphors," Rumi asserts that a lover's reverence is often sheltered in:
(a) Comfort.
(b) Complacency.
(c) Secrecy.
(d) Love.

4. How many years did it take Coleman Barks to truly comprehend Shams Tabriz through Rumi's poetry?
(a) 6.
(b) 28.
(c) 37.
(d) 15.

5. What was salient and peculiar about Rumi's father?
(a) He had visions.
(b) He spoke seven languages.
(c) He was afraid of horses.
(d) He had no facial hair.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did Rumi's father teach him?

2. Before responding to the king's command in a poem in Book 1, Chapter 3, what does Ayaz do?

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

4. When the animal soul that Rumi refers to is lacking, it leads to what?

5. Rumi asserts that the union between a man and a woman has what associated with it?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What might you conclude about Rumi's ideas regarding the importance of friendship?

3. How does the role of gender come into play in many of Rumi's poems?

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

5. What does Coleman Barks mean when he indicates that part of his experience of perceiving Rumi's poems is transcendental?

6. Describe Husam Chelebi's role as scribe.

7. Explain Rumi's thoughts on love in comparison to jealousy and fear.

8. How does Ayaz learn from his predecessors in order to reach a decision that finds favor with the king?

9. Summarize the poet's message about the importance of balance with respect to the "animal soul."

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

(see the answer keys)

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