View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what does Werther compare himself at the end of the letter of November 30?

2. To whom does Werther write his letter of January 20, 1772?

3. In the letter of October 20, what does Werther assert gives us "a genuine sense of ourselves?"

4. From whom does Werther receive a letter, related in the letter of February 17, concerning his relationship with the Ambassador?

5. What dream does Werther relate to Wilhelm in the letter of December 16?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Werther perceive Count C.?

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

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

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

5. What is the substance of Werther's letter of January 20 to Lotte?

6. How do Werther's personality and his thoughts change upon returning to Wahlheim?

7. What bothers Werther about many of the people he meets?

8. Summarize the ongoing story of the farmer-boy whom Werther had met earlier in the novel.

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the role of Ossian in the novel. Who is Ossian (both ostensibly and actually), and why does Werther place him in such high regard? What effect does reading Ossian have on Werther? How does he relate to the work and its contents? Offer a close-reading of the fragment of Ossian the Editor quotes. Carefully analyze this portion of the text. Pay close attention to word choice, setting, imagery, figurative or metaphorical language, references, and the tone of the passages. How do you interpret this passage based on a close study of the connotations of all of these aspects of the text? What is its overall effect upon the reader? How do you feel this passage relates to Werther's own story, feelings and thoughts? Why might this passage and the subsequent ones which reflect on Colma's situation affect Werther and Lotte so profoundly? How might the voices of Ryno, Alpin, and the narrator of the fragment be interpreted by Werther and Lotte to be the voices of Werther's nearest and dearest friends and acquaintances?

Essay Topic 2

Consider the theme of religion, God, Fate and the divine in the novel. Where, and in which situations, does Werther feel the presence or absence of God? Is there anything overtly, or covertly, religious or spiritual about the novel as a whole? Why does Werther feel, at times, both connected to and disconnected from God? What ambiguities does Werther confront, or ignore, about his passion for Lotte and the sinfulness or morality of it? How does Werther view Fate, and why might having a fated destiny be significant to considerations of the morality of Werther's end? How does Werther view Lotte in religious terms, and why does he seem to do so?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,337 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample