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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. To Rumi, political governance is not so much about military maneuvers but more about what?

2. What does Rumi note about the destructive properties of candles in Book 2, Chapter 3?

3. While acknowledging that scriptures can be good, Rumi also notes that too many people:

4. At the start of the group of poems in Book 2, Chapter 2, Coleman Barks gives an introduction that includes folklore from what religious tradition?

5. In the poem in Chapter 2, Book 2, about the king who loves the girl, what is Rumi's message about real love?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the significance of candles in this last section of the book.

2. What happens to the three brothers who fall in love with a powerful princess?

3. Summarize the countryside man's experience in "Town and Country."

4. In the story where the king is in love with a girl, what ailment has afflicted her?

5. Explain what the Mathnawi is.

6. In one of Rumi's poems, what happens when somebody comes looking for Sheik Kharraqani?

7. What is the solution to King Solomon's crown constantly sliding down his forehead?

8. What is the primary moral of the "Town and Country" story?

9. How did Islam come about?

10. Summarize the shopkeeper's experience in "Town and Country."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze what the poet says and infers with regards to ethics. Then, compare and contrast some of his ideas with modern-day ethics thinking. Use examples from his poems to support your observations.

Essay Topic 2

What important lessons come through in the poem "Town and Country"? Describe the friendship between the two friends in this story. When the tables are turned and the shopkeeper gets to walk in the countryside man's shoes, how are his eyes opened? What does he finally see, after so many years, about the suffering his friend experienced when he first arrived in town?

Essay Topic 3

Summarize the story about three fish with varying intelligence levels. What conclusions does Rumi reach at the end of this story? How has each fish benefited in his own way?

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