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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. What is the name of the woman Werther meets at the vicar's home?

2. What does the main character find enjoyable about the area he has arrived at in the first letter?

3. Whose business must the main character deal with in the first letter?

4. To what does Werther compare his general opinion on painting in the letter of May 30?

5. What presence does Werther sense all around him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Werther initially feel about Albert?

2. How is Werther first received by the commoners of the village, and how does Werther view their reaction to him?

3. What does Werther find to be the general causes of frustration in business dealings?

4. What is the substance of Werther and Albert's conversation, as Werther relates it in the letter of August 12?

5. What is Werther's opinion of his aunt?

6. What event has incited Werther to leave his friends, and how does he view this event?

7. Who does Werther meet while sitting on a plow in Wahlheim's town square, and what is the substance of their various interactions with Werther?

8. What "worthy man" has Werther gotten to know, and where does he live?

9. How does Werther describe his delight in the countryside surrounding Wahlheim?

10. What is the substance of the conversation between Werther and his companions at the vicar's home?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the symbolism and importance of clothing in the novel. Focus on the letters of July 8, 1771; August 28, 1771; and September 6, 1772. What articles of clothing does Werther have a disproportionate focus on? What might these articles of clothing symbolize, for Werther as well as for the reader? How does Goethe use them as talismans in the novel--what power do they have? Additionally, what do these articles of clothing conceal, or what might they stand in for?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the form of the novel: a confessional, epistolary novel. Describe the genres of the epistolary novel and the confessional novel. How do these forms work together in this particular novel? Describe the structure of the novel: how many narrative voices are there? What is the chronological structure of the novel? Are there any aspects of the novel's form or structure that seem out of place or that fit differently into the entire structure than the rest of the book? How does the texture, tone, and focus of the novel change as Werther's mental and emotional state becomes more agitated?

Essay Topic 3

Whenever Werther is near water, he is always near some form of running water, whether a spring or a raging torrent. Examine this theme of running water, and the symbolism of it relevant to the text. Why is Werther attracted to the stream, and to bodies of water in general? What kind of cultural or religious associations can we make with water? How does it affect Werther's mood, thoughts and feelings? Why might it be different or have a different set of effects than still water?

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