Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Mirth

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

Melancholy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys
3 Who is Orpheus?
The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

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

The Greek name for Melancholy

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 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"?
As a small child

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge

In the middle of his political career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
No

Yes

There is no debate

It's unclear
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker listening to music at a church
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
Business

An artistic temperment

Festivals

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 of study

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 in business
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

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

University of London

Oxford

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

Hecuba

Orpheous

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

Epic Poetry

Classical hymn

History Play
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zeus and Hecuba

Zeus and Leda

Zephyr and Aurora

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

The sun

A star

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

The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Dance

Music

Tragedy

Comedy
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
In the sunlight

By a pond

At the top of a mountain

The shade
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Music

Birds

Cries

Night
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
King Lear

Comus

The Canterbury Tales

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

Revelry

Quiet

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Teacher

Dancer

Nun

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Small steps

Galloping Gait

Even step

Reckless speed
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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