Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Mirth

Contemplation

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

Melancholy

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 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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of sadness

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"?
In the middle of his political career

As a small child

While studying at Cambridge

At the end of his 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 listening to music at a church

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

With the speaker studying in a tower
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
A life of joy

Festivals

An artistic temperment

Business
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"

"Il Legro"

"L'Allegro"
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 entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

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

Harvard

Oxford

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

Orpheous

Zeus

Persephone
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
Classical hymn

Epic Poetry

History Play

Free verse
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Leda

Zeus and Hecuba

Saturn and Vesta
16 The speaker compares ___ to a lost traveler.
The moon

The sun

A bird

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

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker writes a play

The speaker attends a party
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

By a pond

At the top of a mountain

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

Cries

Night

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

Comus

King Lear

Paradise Lost
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.
Revelry

Joy

Quiet

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Dancer

Nun

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Even step

Small steps

Reckless speed

Galloping Gait
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In a marital bed

In secret shades

In the sky

At the top of a mountain

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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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