Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Melancholy

Mirth

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

Melancholy

Vain deluding joys

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 joy

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
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
As a small child

In the middle of his political career

While studying at Cambridge

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

Yes

There is no debate

No
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker listening to music at a church
8 During the Renaissance, people associated Melancholy with ____
A life of joy

Business

An artistic temperment

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

"Il Legro"

"L'Alleger"

"L'Allegro"
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 attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest
12 Where did Milton attend school?
Oxford

Harvard

Cambridge

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

Zeus

Persephone

Orpheous
14 Which genre does Milton draw from in "Il Penseroso"?
History Play

Free verse

Epic Poetry

Classical hymn
15 Who does the speaker say gave birth to Melancholy?
Zeus and Hecuba

Zephyr and Aurora

Saturn and Vesta

Zeus and Leda
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 studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

The speaker writes a play

The speaker travels to another country
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Tragedy

Dance

Comedy

Music
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
At the top of a mountain

The shade

In the sunlight

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

Cries

Night

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

King Lear

The Canterbury Tales

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

Quiet

Joy

Revelry
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Student

Teacher

Nun

Dancer
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Small steps

Galloping Gait

Reckless speed

Even step
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

In the sky

In a marital bed

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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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