Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

1 Who does the speaker choose as his guide in "Il Penseroso?"
Penance

Contemplation

Mirth

Melancholy
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?
Melancholy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy
3 Who is Orpheus?
One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

A shepherd who tried to lead his wife out of the underworld

The Greek name for Melancholy

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"
4 What does the speaker argue in "Il Penseroso"?
That the best life to live is the life of sadness

That the best life to live is the life of joy

That the best life to live is the life of politics

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
While studying at Cambridge

As a small child

At the end of his career

In the middle of his political career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
It's unclear

No

Yes

There is no debate
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker listening to music at a church

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
An artistic temperment

Business

Festivals

A life of joy
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"Il Legro"

"L'Allegro"

"Il Alleg"

"L'Alleger"
10 What does the speaker argue for in "L'Allegro"?
That the best life to live is the life in business

That the best life to live is the life of silence

That the best life to live is the life of study

That the best life to live is the life of joy
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Cambridge

Oxford

Harvard

University of London
13 Which character from Greek mythology does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
Persephone

Hecuba

Zeus

Orpheous
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
Free verse

Classical hymn

History Play

Epic Poetry
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zeus and Leda

Saturn and Vesta

Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Hecuba
16 The speaker compares ___ to a lost traveler.
The sun

The moon

A bird

A star
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

The speaker studies in a tower
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Tragedy

Comedy

Dance

Music
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
By a pond

In the sunlight

The shade

At the top of a mountain
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Music

Cries

Birds

Night
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
The Canterbury Tales

Paradise Lost

Comus

King Lear
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.
Quiet

Revelry

Joy

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Nun

Teacher

Student

Dancer
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Reckless speed

Small steps

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In the sky

At the top of a mountain

In a marital bed

In secret shades

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