L'Allegro

Quiz — L'Allegro by John Milton

1. Recall – Form: What is the dominant metrical form used throughout L'Allegro, and how does it contribute to the poem's overall mood?

1. Recall – Speaker & Opening: What figure does the speaker banish at the very beginning of the poem, and to where is this figure sent? What is the effect of this opening gesture on the rest of the poem?

1. Recall – Personification: By what Greek name does Milton call Mirth, and to which group of divine figures does she belong? Why is her elevated status significant to the poem's argument?

1. Recall – Mirth's Companions: Name at least four of the companions the speaker summons alongside Mirth. What does this procession of figures suggest about the nature of happiness in the poem?

1. Comprehension – Structure & Time: L'Allegro follows a particular structural pattern across its day scenes. Describe the progression the poem traces from the opening natural images to the evening scenes, and explain what this structure implies about a joyful life.

1. Comprehension – Folk Culture: What kind of entertainment does the poem depict in its evening indoor scene, and which imaginative tradition does Milton draw upon here? How does this scene balance the poem's more classical references?

1. Comprehension – Literary References: Milton names two specific playwrights when discussing theatrical pleasure. Who are they, and how does including them help establish Milton's own literary identity within the poem?

1. Analysis – Symbolism of the Lark: The lark is described as actively breaking into the night with its song. Based on the analysis, what does the lark symbolize, and what does the manner of its appearance suggest about Milton's view of joy?

1. Analysis – The Conditional Ending: The poem concludes not with a triumphant declaration but with a conditional agreement. What does this open-ended, "if…then" structure reveal about the relationship between the speaker and Mirth, and how does it affect the poem's tone?

1. Analysis – Debate Poem: L'Allegro was written alongside its companion piece Il Penseroso. What larger philosophical debate do the two poems together explore, and why is it significant that neither side is declared the winner?

Answer Key

1. The poem is written in iambic tetrameter couplets. The brisk, light pace of this meter mirrors the energy and cheerfulness the poem celebrates, making the verse feel lively and swift rather than weighty or solemn.

1. The speaker banishes Melancholy, sending her back to the underworld, accompanied by dark mythological imagery (Cerberus, midnight). This act of expulsion frames the entire poem as a conscious choice to embrace joy over darkness.

1. Milton calls Mirth by the Greek name Euphrosyne, identifying her as one of the three Graces. By granting her divine status, Milton argues that cheerfulness carries sacred legitimacy — it is not trivial or frivolous but worthy of reverence.

1. The companions include Jest, Jollity, Quips, Cranks, Wreathed Smiles, Sport, and Laughter. Their collective presence suggests that happiness is not a solitary state but a vibrant, social procession of shared pleasures.

1. The poem moves from dawn (heralded by the lark's song) through pastoral scenes of ploughmen, milkmaids, and shepherds, then to a visual survey of the landscape, and finally indoors to an evening of folk storytelling. This progression suggests that a truly joyful life is varied, engaged, and in harmony with both the natural world and human community across the full arc of a day.

1. The evening scene depicts rustic storytelling over ale, drawing on English folk tradition — tales of fairies, goblins, and Mab. This balances the poem's classical references by showing that happiness can be found in simple, everyday pleasures as much as in learned literary culture.

1. Milton names Ben Jonson (for comedy) and Shakespeare (described as "Fancy's child"). By placing himself in relationship to these figures, Milton positions himself within a prestigious English literary lineage and suggests that great art, as a communal and performed pleasure, is one of the highest expressions of social happiness.

1. The lark symbolizes the onset of a lively, engaged existence. The fact that its song actively "startles" the night — rather than waiting for darkness to fade — suggests that, for Milton, joy is not passive; it must be pursued and chosen, pushing away gloom rather than merely coexisting with it.

1. The conditional ending — the speaker will commit to Mirth if she delivers all these pleasures — casts the poem as an invitation rather than a resolution. This keeps the tone graceful and open-ended, reflecting the poem's broader stance that happiness is something earned through active participation rather than simply declared.

1. Together, L'Allegro and Il Penseroso debate the classical "choice of life" question: which is more valuable, the active, sociable, cheerful life or the contemplative, melancholic, scholarly one? The fact that neither poem wins decisively suggests Milton sees genuine merit in both modes of existence, inviting readers to hold the tension rather than resolve it.