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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 main character's name?

2. Whom does Werther mourn in his letter of May 17?

3. How did Lotte and Albert become betrothed?

4. Of what feeling does Werther complain in the letter of August 22?

5. Whom does Werther assist in his or her daily chore?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Werther perceive his relation to the commoners of the village?

2. What are Lotte's views on books and reading?

3. How does Werther meet Lotte?

4. How has Werther's life or attitudes changed after falling in love with Lotte?

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

6. To what does Werther compare Lotte's influence on him in the letter of July 26, and what the effects of her influence upon him?

7. What is the substance of Werther and Lotte's conversation the night before Werther leaves Wahlheim?

8. How does Werther describe the town of Wahlheim?

9. How has his acquaintance with Lotte affected Werther up to and including the letter of July 24?

10. Who is Albert, and what is Werther's reaction to learning about him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Werther as a character. Focus not only on how he looks and acts, but also specifically on how he expresses his feelings and thoughts, how he fits or does not fit into society, his tone and personality, and the general development of his character. How does he begin the novel, and how does he end it? What are his relationships with others like, and what are they based upon? What is Werther's worldview? How does he view himself? What is his style of writing?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the two lovelorn young men Werther meets: the farmer-boy who fell in love with his mistress and murdered his other servant, and the madman named Heinrich roaming around the water's edge looking for flowers. What has caused the situations the two men find themselves in? What are their reasons, excuses, interpretations and plans? How do their situations and Goethe's characterization of them relate to Werther--that is, in which ways are they notably similar and different? How does Werther interpret his encounters with the two men? Is there any form of irony present in their characterizations, their narratives, or their fates?

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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