Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Contemplation

Mirth

Melancholy
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?
Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Mirth

Melancholy
3 Who is Orpheus?
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

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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of sadness

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?
Yes

No

There is no debate

It's unclear
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 finding a friend

With the speaker listening to music at a church
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
Festivals

Business

An artistic temperment

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

"L'Allegro"

"Il Legro"

"L'Alleger"
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 in business

That the best life to live is the life of study
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Harvard

Oxford

University of London

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

Orpheous

Persephone

Zeus
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
Epic Poetry

History Play

Free verse

Classical hymn
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 moon

A star

The sun

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?
Comedy

Dance

Music

Tragedy
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"?
The Canterbury Tales

Comus

Paradise Lost

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

Joy

Quiet

Music
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Dancer

Teacher

Nun
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Even step

Reckless speed

Galloping Gait

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

In the sky

In secret shades

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