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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. Analyzing Rumi's poetry can be challenging because it is clear at points and:

2. Through many of his poems, Rumi communicates that a person can never really know how another:

3. In one poem in Book 2, Chapter 1, Rumi uses the image of Jesus Christ riding atop a donkey to explain a lesson about what?

4. In one poem in Book 2, Chapter 1, Rumi states that every sheik rides a lion, whether that lion is:

5. A recurring theme prominent in Book 2, Chapter 2, is what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In the story where a king falls in love with a girl, and the girl becomes ill, what does the king learn about himself after a doctor arrives on the scene?

4. In the poem where three brothers fall in love with the same woman, describe the person they fall in love with.

5. Explain what the Mathnawi is.

6. In one of the stories, a king falls in love with a girl, but she is not aware that he cares for her. How does he get close to her?

7. How does the story of the king and the girl he loves end?

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

9. How did Islam come about?

10. Explain how Rumi uses the idea of Jesus riding a donkey as a metaphor.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Rumi's description of candles and sunlight as guiding systems to the external and internal guidance to which people turn.

Essay Topic 2

Using Rumi's poems to support your analysis, explain the poet's ideas regarding the following:

1. Tough love.

2. Making sacrifices.

3. Learning a lesson even when it's too late.

Essay Topic 3

Who was Rumi? Who was Coleman Barks? Why do Rumi's poems resonate so well with Barks? Draw parallels between the 13th-century mystic poet and the contemporary scholar translating his poems.

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