Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Penance

Mirth
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?
Fantasy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy
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 goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

The Greek name for Melancholy
4 What does the speaker argue in "Il Penseroso"?
That the best life to live is the life of politics

That the best life to live is the life of joy

That the best life to live is the life of sadness

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
In the middle of his political career

As a small child

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
No

There is no debate

Yes

It's unclear
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker listening to music at a church

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker finding a friend

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

An artistic temperment

Festivals

Business
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"Il Alleg"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Legro"

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

That the best life to live is the life of study

That the best life to live is the life in business

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

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker listening to birds in the forest
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Harvard

University of London

Cambridge

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

Persephone

Orpheous

Hecuba
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

Zeus and Leda

Saturn and Vesta

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

The moon

A bird

The sun
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play
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?
The shade

At the top of a mountain

In the sunlight

By a pond
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Night

Cries

Birds

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

Paradise Lost

King Lear

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

Music

Revelry

Joy
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Dancer

Nun

Teacher

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Small steps

Even step

Reckless speed

Galloping Gait
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In the sky

In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

In a marital bed

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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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