Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Penance

Melancholy

Mirth

Contemplation
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Mirth

Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy
3 Who is Orpheus?

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

The Greek name for Melancholy

A shepherd who tried to lead his wife out of the underworld
4 What does the speaker argue in "Il Penseroso"?

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation

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
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge

As a small child

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

Yes

There is no debate

It's unclear

No
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker listening to music at a church

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

Business

Festivals

A life of joy

An artistic temperment
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?

"L'Allegro"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"

"Il Legro"
10 What does the speaker argue for in "L'Allegro"?

That the best life to live is the life of study

That the best life to live is the life of joy

That the best life to live is the life of silence

That the best life to live is the life in business
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker guiding a lost traveler
12 Where did Milton attend school?

University of London

Cambridge

Oxford

Harvard
13 Which character from Greek mythology does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?

Hecuba

Zeus

Persephone

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

History Play

Free verse

Classical hymn

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

Zephyr and Aurora

Saturn and Vesta

Zeus and Leda

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

A bird

The moon

The sun

A star
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker attends a party

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker writes a play

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

Tragedy

Dance

Comedy

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

By a pond

The shade

At the top of a mountain

In the sunlight
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.

Birds

Night

Cries

Music
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?

King Lear

Paradise Lost

Comus

The Canterbury Tales
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.

Joy

Quiet

Music

Revelry
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Nun

Dancer

Teacher

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Galloping Gait

Reckless speed

Small steps

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In the sky

In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

In secret shades

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Study Guide for Il Penseroso

Il Penseroso study guide contains a biography of John Milton, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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