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?
Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?
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"

The Greek name for Melancholy
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 contemplation

That the best life to live is the life of sadness

That the best life to live is the life of politics
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
While studying at Cambridge

At the end of his career

As a small child

In the middle of his political career
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
No

It's unclear

There is no debate

Yes
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 studying in a tower

With the speaker finding a friend
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
Festivals

Business

A life of joy

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

"L'Allegro"

"Il Alleg"

"Il Legro"
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 silence

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 entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler
12 Where did Milton attend school?
University of London

Oxford

Cambridge

Harvard
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"?
Free verse

Epic Poetry

History Play

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.
A bird

A star

The sun

The moon
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker travels to another country

The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play

The speaker studies in a tower
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Comedy

Tragedy

Dance

Music
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
In the sunlight

The shade

At the top of a mountain

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

Music

Night

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

King Lear

Comus

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

Joy

Music

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Nun

Dancer

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Even step

Reckless speed

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
At the top of a mountain

In a marital bed

In secret shades

In the sky

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