L'Allegro quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which genre best describes "L'Allegro"?

   • Elegy
   • Dramatic Monologue
   • Ode
   • Correct answer: Pastoral Poetry
   • Epic Poetry

   It is pastoral: an idealized countryside of ploughmen, milkmaids and mowers, where "every shepherd tells his tale" and shepherds with the stock pastoral names Corydon and Thyrsis sit down to a country dinner.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does the title "L'Allegro" mean in Italian?

   • The heroic or noble warrior
   • Correct answer: The happy or cheerful man
   • The wandering traveler or pilgrim
   • The thoughtful or pensive man

   L'Allegro translates to "the happy man" or "the cheerful one," reflecting the poem's celebration of a joyful, sociable temperament.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What two alternative parentages does Milton give for Mirth (Euphrosyne)?

   • Correct answer: Daughter of Venus and Bacchus, or of Zephyr and Aurora
   • Daughter of Jupiter and Juno, or of Apollo and Diana
   • Daughter of Mars and Venus, or of Neptune and Amphitrite
   • Daughter of Mercury and Minerva, or of Saturn and Rhea

   Milton offers two myths: Mirth is either born of Venus (love) and Bacchus (wine), representing sensual pleasure, or of Zephyr (the west wind) and Aurora (dawn), representing natural beauty.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Which companion does the speaker ask Mirth to bring "in thy right hand"?

   • The dawn-maiden, bright Aurora
   • The harvest-spirit, gentle Ceres
   • Correct answer: The mountain-nymph, sweet Liberty
   • The river-goddess, fair Euphrosyne

   The speaker asks Mirth to lead Liberty by the hand, suggesting that freedom from constraint is essential to a truly joyful life.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does the poem's meter change at line 11, and why is this significant?

   • It switches from rhyming couplets to blank verse, reflecting the speaker's newfound emotional freedom
   • Correct answer: It shifts from irregular heavy rhythm to light iambic tetrameter, enacting the transition from gloom to joy
   • It changes from prose to verse, signaling the speaker's shift from narration to lyric song
   • It moves from iambic pentameter to trochaic octameter, creating a more epic and grandiose tone

   The first 10 lines banishing Melancholy use heavier, darker rhythms. At line 11 ("But come, thou Goddess fair and free"), the light, tripping tetrameter couplets begin -- the meter itself performs the shift to cheerfulness.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What is the name of the classical figure whose music, according to the poem, could persuade Pluto to release Eurydice?

   • Arion
   • Apollo
   • Amphion
   • Correct answer: Orpheus

   Orpheus is the mythic singer whose wife Eurydice was held by Pluto. The poem ends with music so sweet that Orpheus would wake on his Elysian bed to hear strains that "would have won the ear" of Pluto and freed "His half-regained Eurydice."

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7. 7

   Question 7. Who are Corydon, Thyrsis, and Phyllis in the poem?

   • Historical friends of Milton who inspired the poem's countryside scenes
   • Allegorical figures representing the three stages of human happiness
   • Correct answer: Rural characters with classical pastoral names -- shepherds and a woman preparing their meal
   • Greek gods who oversee the harvest festival described in the poem

   These are stock names from the classical pastoral tradition (Theocritus, Virgil). Corydon and Thyrsis are shepherds at dinner, and Phyllis is the "neat-handed" woman who dresses their meal.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What is the "drudging goblin" described in the poem's fireside tales?

   • Correct answer: A Robin Goodfellow or Puck figure who threshes corn overnight and sleeps by the fire
   • A mischievous demon who steals crops from farmers and hides them in the forest
   • A guardian spirit who protects the village from storms and wild animals
   • A trickster fairy who leads travelers astray with false lantern lights

   The goblin is a Puck-like figure from English folklore who earns his cream-bowl by threshing as much corn in one night as ten laborers could, then stretches out "all the chimney's length" to sleep.

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9. 9

   Question 9. In the line "The cynosure of neighboring eyes", what does cynosure mean?

   • A lookout who keeps watch from a tower
   • Correct answer: A center of attention and admiration
   • A shy beauty hidden from public view
   • An object of envy and resentment

   A cynosure is whatever draws every eye; the word first named the North Star that sailors steered by. Milton imagines a beauty in the tree-ringed towers who is "The cynosure of neighboring eyes," the one everyone nearby gazes at and admires.

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10. 10

    Question 10. In the line "In heaven yclept Euphrosyne", what does yclept mean?

    • Born or descended
    • Worshipped or adored
    • Correct answer: Called or known as
    • Crowned or enthroned

    Yclept is an old word meaning called or named. The goddess is "In heaven yclept Euphrosyne" but "by men heart-easing Mirth": she has one name among the gods and another among people.

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11. 11

    Question 11. In the line "And the jocund rebecks sound", what does rebecks mean?

    • Correct answer: Early stringed instruments played with a bow
    • Wooden pipes or simple flutes played by shepherds
    • Bells rung from a village church tower
    • Small hand drums beaten at festivals

    A rebeck was an early fiddle-like instrument played with a bow. At the village holiday "the merry bells ring round" while "the jocund rebecks sound" for the youths and maids dancing, so the bells and the rebecks are two different sounds.

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12. 12

    Question 12. In the line "Or the twisted eglantine", what does eglantine mean?

    • A twisted iron grille over a window
    • A climbing ivy with dark evergreen leaves
    • A grapevine trained along a trellis
    • Correct answer: A wild climbing rose with fragrant leaves

    Eglantine is a wild climbing rose with sweet-smelling leaves. At dawn the speaker bids good-morrow at a window framed by plants, and "the twisted eglantine" is one of them, its stems winding like the vine named just before it.

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13. 13

    Question 13. In the line "So buxom, blithe, and debonair", what does debonair mean?

    • Correct answer: Cheerful, gracious, and carefree in manner
    • Shy, modest, and quiet in manner
    • Bold, daring, and reckless in spirit
    • Stylish, proud, and fashionable in her dress

    Here debonair means cheerful, gracious and carefree. Mirth is a daughter "So buxom, blithe, and debonair," and the word stands beside blithe as a sign of a light, sunny temper, not of fashion or swagger.

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14. 14

    Question 14. How does Milton characterize Shakespeare in the poem?

    • As a tragic figure whose greatest works were never appreciated during his lifetime
    • As a court poet who wrote primarily to please the monarch and noble patrons
    • Correct answer: As "Fancy's child" who warbles "native wood-notes wild" -- a natural, spontaneous genius
    • As a disciplined scholar who mastered classical dramatic forms through careful study

    Milton contrasts "sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child" with "Jonson's learned sock," characterizing Shakespeare as a natural genius whose art flows from imagination, while Jonson represents classical learning.

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15. 15

    Question 15. What is the central argument of "L'Allegro" in relation to its companion poem "Il Penseroso"?

    • That rural life is morally superior to the corruption of the city
    • Correct answer: That the cheerful, active, sociable life is the ideal way to live
    • That solitary contemplation and scholarly study lead to true wisdom
    • That both joy and melancholy are equally meaningless pursuits in life

    L'Allegro argues for the cheerful, sociable temperament -- favoring daylight, community, comedy, and lively music -- while its companion Il Penseroso champions the contemplative, solitary life.

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16. 16

    Question 16. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • The speaker opens the poem by banishing Melancholy, calling it "loathed" and born of Cerberus.

      Happened

      The poem begins with "Hence, loathed Melancholy, / Of Cerberus and blackest Midnight born."

    • The speaker describes a sunrise with the sun "Robed in flames and amber light."

      Happened

      Lines 59-62 describe the great Sun beginning "his state, / Robed in flames and amber light, / The clouds in thousand liveries dight."

    • The speaker describes a winter scene with snow covering the fields.

      Didn't happen

      The poem deliberately avoids winter entirely -- it is always spring or summer in L'Allegro's idealized world, reinforcing the theme of perpetual joy.

    • The speaker mentions hearing "soft Lydian airs" married to "immortal verse."

      Happened

      Near the end, the speaker asks to be lapped "in soft Lydian airs, / Married to immortal verse" -- music so beautiful it could move Orpheus.

    • The speaker visits a monastery and listens to monks chanting hymns.

      Didn't happen

      This scene belongs to Il Penseroso, not L'Allegro. The cheerful man attends theaters and tournaments, not religious retreats.

    • Country folk tell stories of Faery Mab and a goblin who threshes corn overnight.

      Happened

      After dancing on a holiday, the villagers drink nut-brown ale and tell folk tales about Faery Mab and a hardworking goblin.

    • The speaker describes a nightingale singing in a moonlit grove.

      Didn't happen

      The nightingale is a key image in Il Penseroso, associated with melancholy and night. L'Allegro features the lark, a bird of morning and joy.

    • The poem references both Ben Jonson and Shakespeare as theatrical entertainments.

      Happened

      Lines 131-134 mention "Jonson's learned sock" (comedy) and "sweetest Shakespeare, Fancy's child" as pleasures of the cheerful man.

    • The speaker pledges to live with Mirth if she can provide the delights described.

      Happened

      The final couplet reads: "These delights if thou canst give, / Mirth, with thee I mean to live."

    • The speaker describes watching a funeral procession pass through the village.

      Didn't happen

      There is no death or mourning in L'Allegro. The poem systematically excludes sorrow, presenting an idealized world of uninterrupted pleasure.

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17. 17

    Question 17. According to the poem, what bird "with lively din, / Scatters the rear of darkness thin"?

    • The night-raven
    • The nightingale
    • The lark
    • Correct answer: The cock

    The rooster's crowing at dawn drives away the last remnants of night, another image of light and joy triumphing over darkness.

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