Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Contemplation

Melancholy

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

Fantasy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys
3 Who is Orpheus?
The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

The Greek name for Melancholy

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

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

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation

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

In the middle of his political career

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge
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 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 ____
Business

Festivals

A life of joy

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

"L'Alleger"

"L'Allegro"

"Il Alleg"
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 study

That the best life to live is the life of joy

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 attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

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

Cambridge

Harvard

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

Hecuba

Zeus

Persephone
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
History Play

Epic Poetry

Classical hymn

Free verse
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Leda

Zeus and Hecuba

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

The sun

A star

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

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker travels to another country

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

Tragedy

Dance

Comedy
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
The shade

By a pond

At the top of a mountain

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

Night

Cries

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 ____.
Music

Joy

Revelry

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Nun

Student

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Small steps

Reckless speed

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
At the top of a mountain

In secret shades

In a marital bed

In the sky

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Study Guide for Il Penseroso

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