Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Contemplation

Melancholy

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

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Melancholy
3 Who is Orpheus?
One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

The Greek name for Melancholy

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

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 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

While studying at Cambridge

As a small child

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 studying in a tower

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

An artistic temperment

Business

Festivals
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"Il Legro"

"L'Alleger"

"L'Allegro"

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

That the best life to live is the life in business

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 guiding a lost traveler

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Cambridge

Harvard

University of London

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

Hecuba

Persephone

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

Epic Poetry

History Play

Classical hymn
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Saturn and Vesta

Zeus and Leda

Zephyr and Aurora

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

A star

The sun

A bird
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker travels to another country

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Music

Comedy

Dance

Tragedy
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
At the top of a mountain

The shade

In the sunlight

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

Cries

Music

Night
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 ____.
Music

Revelry

Quiet

Joy
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Dancer

Student

Nun

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Small steps

Even step

Reckless speed
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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