Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Penance

Mirth

Contemplation
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy

Fantasy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

The Greek name for Melancholy

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

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"
4 What does the speaker argue in "Il Penseroso"?

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation

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
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?

While studying at Cambridge

At the end of his career

In the middle of his political career

As a small child
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?

No

Yes

It's unclear

There is no debate
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 ____

An artistic temperment

Festivals

A life of joy

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 silence

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 joy
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

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

University of London

Cambridge

Oxford

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

Orpheous

Zeus

Hecuba

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

History Play

Epic Poetry

Classical hymn

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

Zeus and Leda

Saturn and Vesta

Zeus and Hecuba

Zephyr and Aurora
16 The speaker compares ___ to a lost traveler.

The sun

A bird

The moon

A star
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker writes a play

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

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

Comedy

Tragedy

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

Music

Birds

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

Paradise Lost

Comus

King Lear

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

Quiet

Joy

Revelry

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Teacher

Student

Dancer

Nun
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Reckless speed

Galloping Gait

Even step

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

In the sky

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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