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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. Why did Rumi's family flee the place of his birth?
(a) The land was struck by drought.
(b) The land was attacked by Turks.
(c) They feared a Mongol invasion.
(d) They feared the ruler of the region.

2. Much of Rumi's poetry is:
(a) Passionate.
(b) Sarcastic.
(c) Subdued.
(d) Cryptic.

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) He regrets his actions.
(c) One of his men attacks him.
(d) He falls in love with her.

4. After reading Rumi's poems, Coleman Barks feels he has been:
(a) Transformed.
(b) Duped.
(c) Comforted.
(d) Discombobulated.

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

Short Answer 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?

2. The poem in Book 1, Chapter 2 about a man who accidentally soils himself includes lessons on which of the following?

3. 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:

4. The purpose of Coleman Barks' preambles to Rumi's poems is to:

5. One of the key attributes of the character Ayaz is what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How has Rumi's poetry impacted Coleman Barks?

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

4. Are Rumi's poems emotional or analytical?

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

6. Describe Husam Chelebi's role as scribe.

7. How would one describe the tavern poems?

8. How is Coleman Barks associated with Rumi?

9. What are the underlying themes in Rumi's poem about sexual passion where a city is invaded and one of the invaders falls in love with a woman there?

10. How does Rumi refer to his friends in the poems within Book 1, Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

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