Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Contemplation

Penance

Melancholy

Mirth
2 What does the speaker reject at the beginning?

Mirth

Fantasy

Vain deluding joys

Melancholy
3 Who is Orpheus?

The Greek name for Melancholy

A shepherd who tried to lead his wife out of the underworld

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields

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 politics

That the best life to live is the life of contemplation

That the best life to live is the life of joy

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

While studying at Cambridge

In the middle of his political career

As a small child

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

Yes

It's unclear

No

There is no debate
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 ____

An artistic temperment

Festivals

A life of joy

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

"Il Alleg"

"L'Allegro"

"L'Alleger"

"Il Legro"
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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of silence

That the best life to live is the life in business
11 Which scene occurs in "Il Penseroso"?

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker listening to birds in the forest
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"?

Hecuba

Persephone

Zeus

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?

Saturn and Vesta

Zeus and Leda

Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Hecuba
16 The speaker compares ___ to a lost traveler.

A bird

The moon

The sun

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

The speaker writes a play

The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

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

Dance

Tragedy

Comedy

Music
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 ___.

Cries

Night

Music

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

King Lear

Paradise Lost

The Canterbury Tales

Comus
22 The speaker calls a group of muses including ____.

Quiet

Joy

Music

Revelry
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.

Nun

Teacher

Dancer

Student
24 Melancholy walks with ___.

Galloping Gait

Even step

Small steps

Reckless speed
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?

In secret shades

At the top of a mountain

In a marital bed

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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