Il Penseroso Quizzes

Il Penseroso Quiz

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

Mirth

Melancholy

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

Vain deluding joys

Fantasy

Mirth
3 Who is Orpheus?
A shepherd who tried to lead his wife out of the underworld

The goddess who guides "Il Penseroso"

The Greek name for Melancholy

One of the peasants the speaker sees in the fields
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 joy

That the best life to live is the life of politics
5 When did Milton likely write "Il Penseroso"?
In the middle of his political career

At the end of his career

While studying at Cambridge

As a small child
6 Does the speaker in "Il Penseroso" win the debate?
No

Yes

There is no debate

It's unclear
7 How does "Il Penseroso" end?
With the speaker studying in a tower

With the speaker finding a friend

With the speaker listening to birds in the forest

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

A life of joy

Festivals

Business
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 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 entering the desert in search of solitude

The speaker attending the theater to listen to Shakespeare

The speaker guiding a lost traveler

The speaker listening to birds in the forest
12 Where did Milton attend school?
University of London

Harvard

Cambridge

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

Orpheous

Hecuba

Persephone
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 Hecuba

Zephyr and Aurora

Zeus and Leda
16 The speaker compares ___ to a lost traveler.
A star

A bird

The moon

The sun
17 Which scene takes place in "Il Penseroso"?
The speaker studies in a tower

The speaker attends a party

The speaker travels to another country

The speaker writes a play
18 Which genre does the speaker contemplate in the tower?
Dance

Comedy

Music

Tragedy
19 Where does the speaker go to sleep during the day?
The shade

At the top of a mountain

By a pond

In the sunlight
20 After taking a nap, the speaker wakes to ___.
Birds

Music

Night

Cries
21 Which work does the speaker allude to in "Il Penseroso"?
The Canterbury Tales

Comus

King Lear

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

Music

Revelry

Quiet
23 The speaker compares Melancholy to a ____.
Dancer

Student

Nun

Teacher
24 Melancholy walks with ___.
Galloping Gait

Even step

Reckless speed

Small steps
25 Where was Melancholy conceived?
In secret shades

In a marital bed

At the top of a mountain

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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