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?
Fantasy

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?
The Greek name for Melancholy

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

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

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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation

That the best life to live is the life of politics

That the best life to live is the life of sadness
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
In the middle of his political career

As a small child

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
It's unclear

There is no debate

Yes

No
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker finding a friend

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 ____
Business

A life of joy

An artistic temperment

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

"Il Alleg"

"L'Alleger"

"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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of silence

That the best life to live is the life of study
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

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

Oxford

University of London

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

Hecuba

Persephone

Orpheous
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
Epic Poetry

History Play

Free verse

Classical hymn
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Hecuba

Zeus and Leda

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

The moon

A bird

The sun
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

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

Tragedy

Comedy

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 ___.
Birds

Music

Cries

Night
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
Paradise Lost

King Lear

Comus

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

Revelry

Music

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Nun

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Even step

Small steps

Reckless speed
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In secret shades

In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

In the sky

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