Milton MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

Milton MCQs
Updated on: November 3, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 15 min

Milton MCQs

1. When was John Milton born?
A. 1608 December 9th
B. 1609 January 8th
C. 1600 March 1st
D. 1618 July 4th

A. 1608 December 9th.
Milton was born on Friday, December 9th, 1608, in his father’s house in Bread Street, London.

2. What was Milton’s father’s profession?
A. A shopkeeper
B. A scrivener
C. A Puritan pastor
D. A wealthy merchant

B. A scrivener.
Milton’s father was identified as a middle-aged scrivener living in Bread Street, London.

3. What liberal taste did Milton inherit?
A. Love of reading
B. Love of poetry
C. Love of travel
D. Love of music

D. A love of music.
His father, a man of culture and intelligence, loved music, and this taste was passed down to the poet.

4. Who was Milton’s Presbyterian tutor?
A. Sir Walter Raleigh
B. Thomas Young
C. Fynes Moryson
D. Richard Baxter

B. Thomas Young.
Thomas Young was the Presbyterian tutor who educated Milton partly at home during his first sixteen years.
5. From what age was Milton a reader?

A. His tenth year
B. His twelfth year
C. His fifteenth year
D. His eighteenth year

B. His twelfth year.
Starting from the age of twelve, Milton became an omnivorous reader while still attending school.

6. Where did Milton spend fourteen years after school?
A. Foreign travel only
B. London continuously
C. Cambridge and Horton
D. Scotland and Ireland

C. Cambridge and Horton.
These years were spent studying at Cambridge, residing in Buckinghamshire (Horton), and travelling abroad.

7. Where did Milton possibly see ships frequently?
A. Cheapside market
B. London port area
C. Paul’s Walk
D. Near Bread Street

B. London port area.
London was a major traffic centre, suggesting Milton often visited the river below London Bridge.

8. Who is compared to a ‘stately ship of Tarsus’?
A. The Adversary
B. Satan himself
C. Dalila
D. A pilot of a skiff

C. Dalila.
The Chorus observes Dalila approaching and compares her appearance to a stately ship of Tarsus.

9. Satan’s bulk is compared to which sea creature?
A. A great whale
B. A sea beast, Leviathan
C. A night-founder’d skiff
D. A ship of Tarsus

B. A sea beast, Leviathan.
Satan’s massive size is likened to the great sea-beast Leviathan, seen near the coast of Norway.
10. What did Fynes Moryson compare the number of sands to?

A. Foreign fabrics
B. London Bridge ships
C. Elizabethan theatres
D. Puritan pamphlets

A. Foreign fabrics.
Fynes Moryson compared the variety of foreign stuffs and fashions to the number of the stars and sands.

11. Who went apparelled like gentlemen in Old London?
A. Puritan ministers
B. Bankrupts and players
C. Scriveners and traders
D. Old English farmers

B. Bankrupts and players.
Fynes Moryson noted that bankrupts, players, and cutpurses often dressed like gentlemen.

12. Milton’s visits to the ‘well-trod stage’ were likely what?
A. Daily events
B. College routine
C. Excursions of fancy
D. Denied completely

C. Excursions of fancy.
Milton likely saw plays only in his imagination, or during later, short stops in London.

13. How did Milton reply to charges of haunting playhouses?
A. Denied it flatly
B. Confirmed the habit
C. Retorted to the charge
D. Gave long excuses

C. Retorted the charge.
In The Apology for Smectymnuus, Milton retorted the accusation rather than denying it outright.

14. What were Milton’s first verses to appear in print?
A. Sonnet to Nightingale
B. On Christ’s Nativity
C. Epitaph on Shakespeare
D. On the Passion poem

C. Epitaph on Shakespeare.
His first published verses were An Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatick Poet, W. Shakespeare.
15. Whom did Dryden say was Milton’s “original” poet?

A. Shakespeare
B. Du Bartas
C. Ben Jonson
D. Spenser

D. Spenser.
Dryden claimed Spenser was Milton’s “original,” meaning his earliest poetic admiration or influence.

16. How did Milton regard “sage and serious Spenser”?
A. His true mentor
B. His literary idol
C. A better teacher
D. A mere fancy writer

C. A better teacher.
Milton thought Spenser a better teacher than the scholastic philosophers Scotus or Aquinas.

17. What profession was Milton intended for early on?
A. Political service
B. Legal profession
C. The Church service
D. Scrivener profession

C. The Church service.
Milton was planned by his family and his own early goals for service in the Church.

18. What allowed Church differences to ‘break out afresh’?
A. Defeat of the Armada
B. Puritan victory
C. Hampton Court Conference
D. Synod of Dort failure

A. Defeat of the Armada.
Once the defeat of the Armada calmed the fear of Rome, internal Church divisions worsened.

19. What name was used to deride those who sought preachers?
A. A Separatist
B. A Heretic
C. A Puritan
D. A Calvinist

C. A Puritan.
According to Baxter, anyone attending preaching ministers was mocked as a Puritan by the populace.
20. Whose political indifference was impossible for Milton?

A. Shakespeare’s
B. Herrick’s
C. Sir Andrew Aguecheek’s
D. Laud’s

A. Shakespeare’s.
Milton found the large indifference to current politics displayed by Shakespeare impossible in his age.

21. What did Dr. Johnson note about Milton’s early poems?
A. Too joyous
B. Characters kept apart
C. Melancholy in mirth
D. Too much fancy

C. Melancholy in mirth.
Dr. Johnson observed that there seemed to be some melancholy present even in Milton’s descriptions of cheerfulness.

22. What dictated the subjects of Milton’s later poems?
A. Theological beliefs
B. Classical studies
C. Personal sorrow
D. Political passion

D. Political passion.
Political passion dominated and structured all of Milton’s later poems, even influencing their themes.

23. What heroic subject did Milton abandon for his epic?
A. King Charles’s fight
B. King Arthur’s story
C. The story of Lycidas
D. Greek and Roman tales

B. King Arthur’s story.
Milton abandoned his youthful idea of writing an epic about King Arthur and his Round Table.

24. What policy kept Milton out of the Church and at Horton?
A. Puritan reform
B. Cromwell’s decrees
C. Laud and Stratford’s
D. Theological dispute

C. Laud and Stratford’s.
The policies enforced by Laud and Stratford are plausibly linked to Milton’s decision to avoid the Church ministry.
25. What sound accompanies dancing in L’Allegro’s hamlets?

A. Trumpets blowing
B. Loud organ music
C. Jocund Rebecks
D. The church bells only

C. Jocund rebecks.
The merriment of L’Allegro includes youths and maids dancing to the sound of jocund rebecks.

26. What institution did the Leeds bard hope would be raised again?
A. The Mermaid tavern
B. The Summer Bower
C. The Maypole
D. The village feast

C. The Maypole.
The bard lamented the downfall of the Maypole and hoped for its reinstatement in Merry England.

27. Where do the ‘sons of Belial’ wander forth?
A. Bunhill Fields
B. London streets
C. The courts and palaces
D. Bread Street, Cheapside

B. London streets.
The sons of Belial roam through luxurious cities and courts and wander the streets at night.

28. When is Eve described as ‘blithe’ and ‘jocund’?
A. Before the Fall
B. After reconciliation
C. Intoxicated by fruit
D. When tending roses

C. Intoxicated by fruit.
Eve is called ‘jocund’ and ‘blithe’ only after she has consumed the forbidden mortal fruit.

29. Where are flowers depicted more richly than in Eden?
A. Hesperian wildernesses
B. Laureate hearse
C. Rose-thicket near Eve
D. Adam’s happy garden

B. Laureate hearse.
The flowers mentioned at Lycidas’s hearse are described as brighter and homelier than those in Eden.
30. Comus is described as a ‘delicate monster’ despite representing what?

A. Pure beauty
B. Ugly vices
C. Pagan loveliness
D. Puritan severity

B. Ugly vices.
Comus represents ugly vices such as gluttony and intemperance, yet he is depicted delicately.

31. What was Milton’s guiding star, replacing Christianity’s fascination?
A. Classical Stoicism
B. Christian grace
C. Puritanism
D. Pagan loveliness

C. Puritanism.
Milton’s primary guiding star was the severe and self-centred life ideal called Puritanism.

32. What topic is Milton notably absent from singing about?
A. Marriage utility
B. Political battles
C. Love
D. Heroic virtue

C. Love.
Milton is one of the few great English poets who did not sing about the subject of Love.

33. What did Johnson say Paradise Lost lacked due to its theme?
A. Grand descriptions
B. Good theology
C. Human manners
D. Strong characters

C. Human manners.
Johnson complained that Paradise Lost lacked human actions or manners that readers could relate to.

34. Adam’s appearance before the angel is likened to what?
A. A Roman soldier
B. Ambassadorial dignity
C. A great Taskmaster
D. A simple farmer

B. Ambassadorial dignity.
Adam meets the angel with ambassadorial dignity, representing the entire human race in his state.
35. Milton felt himself to be what, lending dignity to his life?

A. A great poet
B. A simple citizen
C. A mighty agent
D. A lonely wanderer

C. A mighty agent.
Milton believed himself to be a “cause,” or an agent for mighty purposes, glorifying his actions.

36. What is the famous singular ending phrase of Lycidas?
A. Calm of mind
B. To pastures new
C. All passion spent
D. The cause remains

B. To pastures new.
The poem ends with the poet turning “To-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new” to pursue his ambitions.

37. What sacrifice did Milton make “In Liberty’s defence”?
A. His political career
B. His worldly wealth
C. His eyesight
D. His early poems

C. His eyesight.
Milton notes that he lost the use of his eyes from overworking them in defence of Liberty.

38. The story of Orpheus represents Milton’s fear of whom?
A. Thracian bard’s fate
B. Restoration brawlers
C. The envious Muse
D. The Dionysia orgy

B. Restoration brawlers.
Milton uses the Orpheus story to represent his fear of the cup-shotten brawlers of Restoration London.

39. To what mythical bird is Samson/Milton compared in the semi-chorus?
A. An evening dragon
B. A soaring eagle
C. The phoenix
D. A villatic fowl

C. The phoenix.
Milton compares Samson, rising triumphant from defeat, to the self-begotten Phoenix reviving from ashes.
40. What common English prejudice exists regarding poets?

A. Against blank verse
B. Against sacred themes
C. Against poets in politics
D. Against lengthy epics

C. Against poets in politics.
There is a strong prejudice among the English people against a poet involving himself intimately with politics.

41. In what year did Milton first intervene in politics with a treatise?
A. 1639
B. 1641
C. 1645
D. 1649

B. 1641.
Milton first intervened in political matters in 1641, writing Of Reformation in England.

42. What specific reform did Milton advocate in Areopagitica?
A. Abolition of tithes
B. Legalization of polygamy
C. Free publication thoughts
D. Oligarchy establishment

C. Free publication thoughts.
He advocated for the repeal of laws compelling all books to be licensed, promoting free publication.

43. Why did a biographer call Areopagitica’s topic ‘obsolete’?
A. The topic is too old
B. Nobody reads it
C. Thesis commands assent
D. Licensing Acts repealed

C. Thesis commands assent.
The topic is considered obsolete because its core thesis now enjoys general approval among modern readers.

44. Which species of liberty did the Divorce pamphlets address?
A. Civil liberty
B. Religious liberty
C. Domestic liberty
D. Intellectual liberty

C. Domestic liberty.
Milton classified the Divorce pamphlets, along with Areopagitica and Of Education, under domestic liberty.
45. The Divorce pamphlets were primarily written because Milton was what?

A. Seeking legal fame
B. Unhappily married
C. Testing press freedom
D. Interested in theology

B. Unhappily married.
Milton wrote the Divorce pamphlets primarily due to the intense personal motive of his unhappy marriage.

46. In The Reason of Church Government, Samson’s locks symbolize what?
A. His noble strength
B. His god-like shoulders
C. The laws
D. Scrivener’s prosperity

C. The laws.
In this treatise, Samson’s illustrious, sunny locks are allegorically represented as the laws.

47. Milton suggested chaos contained atoms of what?
A. Earth, fire, water, air
B. Hot, cold, moist, dry
C. Good, evil, sin, law
D. Wind, stars, moon, sun

B. Hot, cold, moist, dry.
According to Milton’s physics, the universe began with the simple atoms of Hot, Cold, Moist, and Dry.

48. What did Milton say a free commonwealth must be built upon?
A. Economic power
B. Public virtue
C. Strong monarchy
D. Perfect liberty

B. Public virtue.
Milton believed that democracy, in its ideal form, required a wide base of public virtue and true wisdom.

49. What talent did Milton claim fate extorted from him?
A. Eloquent preaching
B. A talent for sport
C. Powerful invective
D. Political persuasion

B. A talent for sport.
Milton claimed that fate forced him to use “a talent of sport” (wit), which he usually kept hidden.
50. The plot of Paradise Lost concerns the fortunes of whom?

A. A single nation
B. John Milton’s life
C. The whole human race
D. Classical heroes

C. The whole human race.
The theme of Paradise Lost is vast in scope, encompassing the destinies of the entire human race.

Brief Overview

Milton is a critical study by Walter Raleigh, Professor of English Literature at Oxford, first published in 1900. The work offers a biographical sketch of the poet John Milton, along with an analysis of his literary style and influence.

John Milton was born in London in 1608. His Puritan father, a scrivener, supported his extensive education, which included studies at home, at St. Paul’s School, and at the University of Cambridge. He focused intensely on Greek and Latin classics.

Milton initially intended to join the Church but left his studies to join the heated political debates of the English Civil War era. He dedicated his work to advancing liberty—religious, domestic, and civil—and wrote influential prose pamphlets, including the Areopagitica, which famously defended a free press. He lost his eyesight while working for the public cause.

His most significant work is the epic poem Paradise Lost. This poem addresses the destiny of the entire human race, setting the story in Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Milton stated his purpose was to “justify the ways of God to men.”

Milton wrote the epic in blank verse, rejecting rhyme as a “modern bondage.” His poetic style is recognized for its unflagging majesty and profound dignity. Critics often point to the rebel leader Satan as possessing remarkable nobility and greatness in the work. Milton died in 1674.

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