Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Contemplation

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

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?
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

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"?
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

No

Yes
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker finding a friend

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
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
Business

Festivals

An artistic temperment

A life of joy
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?
"Il Alleg"

"L'Alleger"

"L'Allegro"

"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 silence

That the best life to live is the life of study

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 entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker listening to birds in the forest
12 Where did Milton attend school?
University of London

Oxford

Cambridge

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"?
Classical hymn

History Play

Free verse

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

Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Hecuba

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

The sun

The moon

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

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country
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

By a pond

In the sunlight

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

Night

Cries

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

The Canterbury Tales

Comus

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

Music

Revelry

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Teacher

Nun

Dancer

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Small steps

Reckless speed

Galloping Gait

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

In the sky

At the top of a mountain

In secret shades

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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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