Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Mirth

Penance

Melancholy

Contemplation
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Melancholy

Mirth

Fantasy

Vain deluding joys
3 Who is Orpheus?

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

The Greek name for Melancholy
4 What does the speaker argue in "Il Penseroso"?

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

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

In the middle of his political career

As a small child

While studying at Cambridge

At the end of his career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?

There is no debate

It's unclear

No

Yes
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker listening to music at a church

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____

A life of joy

Festivals

An artistic temperment

Business
9 What is the name of the companion poem to "Il Penseroso"?

"L'Alleger"

"Il Alleg"

"Il Legro"

"L'Allegro"
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 in business

That the best life to live is the life of study

That the best life to live is the life of joy
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?

Oxford

Cambridge

University of London

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

Orpheous

Persephone

Zeus

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

History Play

Free verse

Classical hymn

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.

A star

The sun

The moon

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

The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

The speaker studies in a tower
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?

At the top of a mountain

In the sunlight

The shade

By a pond
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.

Night

Cries

Music

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

Comus

The Canterbury Tales

King Lear

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

Music

Revelry

Joy

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Nun

Student

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Reckless speed

Even step

Small steps

Galloping Gait
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

In secret shades

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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