Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Penance

Mirth

Contemplation

Melancholy
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Fantasy

Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?

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

The Greek name for Melancholy

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields
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 politics

That the best life to live is the life of joy

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation
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?

It's unclear

There is no debate

No

Yes
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 ____

Festivals

An artistic temperment

Business

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

"Il Legro"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"

"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 joy

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

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare
12 Where did Milton attend school?

Oxford

Cambridge

University of London

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

Orpheous

Hecuba

Zeus

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

Epic Poetry

Classical hymn

History Play

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

Zeus and Hecuba

Saturn and Vesta

Zephyr and Aurora

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

The sun

A star

A bird

The moon
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker travels to another country
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?

Dance

Comedy

Music

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

In the sunlight

By a pond

The shade

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

Birds

Cries

Night

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

Paradise Lost

King Lear

The Canterbury Tales

Comus
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.

Music

Revelry

Joy

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Student

Nun

Teacher

Dancer
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Galloping Gait

Even step

Reckless speed

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In secret shades

In the sky

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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