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?
Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

Mirth

Fantasy
3 Who is Orpheus?
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

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 politics

That the best life to live is the life of sadness

That the best life to live is the life of joy

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

As a small child

While studying at Cambridge

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 studying in a tower

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

With the speaker listening to music at a church

With the speaker finding a friend
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
An artistic temperment

A life of joy

Festivals

Business
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 silence

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 entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Oxford

University of London

Harvard

Cambridge
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"?
Free verse

Epic Poetry

History Play

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 studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party
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?
At the top of a mountain

By a pond

The shade

In the sunlight
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Night

Music

Cries

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

The Canterbury Tales

Paradise Lost

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

Quiet

Joy

Revelry
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Teacher

Nun

Dancer
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Small steps

Even step

Galloping Gait

Reckless speed
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In the sky

In a marital bed

In secret shades

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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