"L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso"

NGL 513/622

Dr. Fike

"L'Allegro"

1.  Lines 25-41:  How do we understand Mirth here?

2.  What time period does the poem cover?  What are the key events during that period?

3.  What is the culmination of the poem?

"Il Penseroso"

4.  How are Mirth and Melancholy pictured here?

5.  Fill out the following chart with contrasting elements.  Does an interpretation arise from these parallel lists?

        "L'Allegro"                            "Il Penseroso"

        34:                                        47:

        41:                                        56:

        49:                                        74:

        65:                                        83:

        93:                                        166:

6.  What are our traditional associations with night?  What about in this poem?

7.  Is the guy lonely?

8.  What does he read?  What literary works are mentioned in "L'Allegro"?

9.  Lines 151-end:  How is music different here?

10. Is one poem's vision superior to the other's?  In other words, do the poems build on or contradict Milton's argument in Prolusion I for Day's superiority over Night?

11. How does the tower imagery relate to (reinforce?) your answer to question 10?  See "L'Allegro" 117 and "Il Penseroso" 85.