Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Penance

Contemplation

Mirth
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Melancholy

Fantasy

Vain deluding joys

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?

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

The Greek name for Melancholy
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"?

While studying at Cambridge

As a small child

At the end of his career

In the middle of his political career
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 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 ____

An artistic temperment

Business

A life of joy

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

"L'Allegro"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"

"Il Legro"
10 What does the speaker argue for in "L'Allegro"?

That the best life to live is the life of joy

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 in business
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?

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

The speaker guiding a lost traveler
12 Where did Milton attend school?

University of London

Oxford

Harvard

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

Hecuba

Orpheous

Persephone

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

Free verse

Classical hymn

History Play

Epic Poetry
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?

Zeus and Leda

Zeus and Hecuba

Saturn and Vesta

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

A bird

The moon

The sun

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

Music

Dance

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

At the top of a mountain

In the sunlight

The shade

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

Night

Cries

Birds

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

The Canterbury Tales

Paradise Lost

King Lear

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

Quiet

Joy

Revelry

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Nun

Student

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Galloping Gait

Reckless speed

Even step

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In a marital bed

In secret shades

In the sky

At the top of a mountain

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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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