Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Mirth

Penance

Melancholy
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?
Melancholy

Fantasy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys
3 Who is Orpheus?
A shepherd who tried to lead his wife out of the underworld

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

The Greek name for Melancholy

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 sadness

That the best life to live is the life of joy

That the best life to live is the life of politics

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

While studying at Cambridge

As a small child

At the end of his career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
No

Yes

There is no debate

It's unclear
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker finding a friend

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
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
A life of joy

An artistic temperment

Festivals

Business
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"L'Allegro"

"Il Alleg"

"L'Alleger"

"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 in business

That the best life to live is the life of silence
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

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

Cambridge

University of London

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

Orpheous

Hecuba

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

Free verse

History Play

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

Zeus and Leda

Saturn and Vesta

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

The sun

A star

A bird
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country

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

Tragedy

Music

Dance
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
By a pond

At the top of a mountain

In the sunlight

The shade
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Birds

Night

Music

Cries
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

Music

Revelry

Joy
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Teacher

Nun

Student

Dancer
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Reckless speed

Galloping Gait

Small steps

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In a marital bed

In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

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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