Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Contemplation

Melancholy

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

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy

Fantasy
3 Who is Orpheus?
The Greek name for Melancholy

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

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 contemplation

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
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
While studying at Cambridge

At the end of his career

In the middle of his political career

As a small child
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
There is no debate

No

Yes

It's unclear
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 finding a friend

With the speaker studying in a tower
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
Festivals

An artistic temperment

Business

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

"Il Legro"

"L'Allegro"

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

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 listening to birds in the forest

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Cambridge

Oxford

Harvard

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

Zeus

Orpheous

Hecuba
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
Free verse

Classical hymn

History Play

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

Zeus and Hecuba

Zephyr and Aurora

Saturn and Vesta
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 studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

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

Comedy

Dance

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

In the sunlight

At the top of a mountain

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

Cries

Music

Birds
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
Paradise Lost

Comus

King Lear

The Canterbury Tales
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.
Revelry

Joy

Quiet

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Teacher

Student

Dancer

Nun
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Reckless speed

Small steps

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In the sky

In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

In secret shades

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