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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 social faux pas does Werther commit in the letter of March 15?

2. What author supplants Homer in Werther's heart?

3. What is this person Werther meets on his walk doing when Werther meets them?

4. What does Werther suddenly shout at Lotte, as related in the letter of December 4?

5. What clothing was Werther wearing when he met Lotte?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Werther's relationship with God seem to change from its prior state toward the end of the letter of November 30, and how does Werther express his feelings about this change?

2. How does Werther's opinion of Albert change from its prior state, according to the Editor?

3. What reaction does Werther have to the news about the walnut trees in the courtyard of the vicarage?

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

5. How does Werther react to reading Ossian, as related in the letter of October 12?

6. What does Werther do during the flood of the river near Wahlheim, and why is this episode significant?

7. Describe the interaction between Lotte, Werther, and Lotte's new pet, as related in the letter of September 12.

8. Who does Werther meet while walking along the water's edge in Wahlheim, what is the person doing, and what does this person look like, as related in the letter of November 30?

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

10. How does Miss von B. respond to Werther's humiliation, as related in the letter of March 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role the Editor plays in the novel. Is this another character, or can you consider it the direct voice of Goethe himself? How does the narrative and discursive style change from the majority of the novel to when the Editor takes over from Werther's letters? How does first-person present narration differ from third-person omniscient? How do you balance these types of narration, since the editor not only commentates Werther's letters and Lotte and Albert's interactions, but he includes Werther's letters as well? How do you think the Editor makes these interpretations? What goes "unsaid" in the portions of his narration where the Editor expresses these interpretations of the characters' innermost thoughts and feelings? How reliable do you think these interpretations are--and how reliable of a narrator do you feel the Editor is? What effect does the Editor have on the overall development of the characters?

(see the answer keys)

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