Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Contemplation

Penance

Mirth
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Fantasy

Mirth

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy
3 Who is Orpheus?

The Greek name for Melancholy

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

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 contemplation

That the best life to live is the life of politics

That the best life to live is the life of joy

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

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge

In the middle of his political career

As a small child
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 music at a church

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest
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 Legro"

"L'Allegro"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"
10 What does the speaker argue for in "L'Allegro"?

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

That the best life to live is the life of joy
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker guiding a lost traveler
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"?

Zeus

Persephone

Orpheous

Hecuba
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

Zeus and Hecuba

Saturn and Vesta

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

The sun

A star

The moon

A bird
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

The speaker studies in a tower

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

Music

Dance

Tragedy

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

By a pond

At the top of a mountain

The shade

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

Night

Birds

Music

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

Paradise Lost

The Canterbury Tales

Comus

King Lear
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.

Joy

Music

Quiet

Revelry
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Student

Nun

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Small steps

Even step

Galloping Gait

Reckless speed
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In secret shades

In a marital bed

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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