Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Mirth

Melancholy

Penance

Contemplation
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?

The Greek name for Melancholy

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

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

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 sadness

That the best life to live is the life of politics
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?

At the end of his career

As a small child

While studying at Cambridge

In the middle of his political career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?

Yes

It's unclear

No

There is no debate
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?

With the speaker listening to music at a church

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

With the speaker studying in a tower

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

Business

A life of joy

Festivals

An artistic temperment
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?

"Il Alleg"

"L'Allegro"

"Il Legro"

"L'Alleger"
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 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?

Harvard

Cambridge

Oxford

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

Persephone

Orpheous

Hecuba

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

Classical hymn

History Play

Epic Poetry

Free verse
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

A star

The sun
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker attends a party

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker studies in a tower

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

Dance

Music

Comedy

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

By a pond

In the sunlight

The shade

At the top of a mountain
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.

Cries

Birds

Night

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

Comus

King Lear

The Canterbury Tales

Paradise Lost
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.

Quiet

Revelry

Music

Joy
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Nun

Dancer

Teacher

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Reckless speed

Even step

Small steps

Galloping Gait
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

In a marital bed

In the sky

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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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