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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. In his letter of December 21, what does Werther tell Lotte he is "resolved" to do?

2. What does Werther assert about the state of mind of the person he meets in the letter of November 30?

3. How does Werther view his interactions with high society in Weimar?

4. Which town does Werther visit, as related in the letter of May 5?

5. What does Lotte think draws Werther to her, according to the Editor?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Werther describe the Ambassador?

2. What are Werther's general views on religion, as expressed in several letters?

3. Summarize the event, related in the letter of March 15, which causes Werther considerable humiliation.

4. How does Werther react to inadvertently catching a glimpse of Lotte's wedding ring, as related in the letter of December 4?

5. What has caused the man Werther meets in the letter of November 30 to act the way he does?

6. What disturbing news regarding the farmer-boy shocks Werther, and how does he react?

7. Whom does Werther meet while walking in Weimar, and what is this young woman like?

8. Describe the Prince and why Werther is involved with him.

9. What does Werther think of the aunt of the young woman he meets while walking in Weimar?

10. Describe the nature and circumstances of Werther's death and of his burial.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the little peasant family that Werther meets in Wahlheim and subsequently gets to know: the mother and her several children, including Hans. What is the little family's story? What attracts them to Werther? How does he interact with them? How is his relationship with them symbolic of a relationship between social classes at large? What might the symbolism be when their inheritance falls through, and when Hans dies? What is the effect of their tragedy on Werther? What about their fate of poverty is significant to the major themes of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the theme of nature and its progression throughout the text. How does Goethe use nature to express Werther's character, and/or to express the themes of sensibility or the sublime? What about nature attracts Werther to wander so much in it? How does Werther respond emotionally, intellectually, and physically to nature? How does he connect nature to poetry as well as to personal relationships? How do Goethe's depictions of nature, and of Werther's responses to nature, change over the course of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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