Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
United States

England

Ireland

Germany
2 What other genre of writing did MacNeice pursue in his lifetime?
Drama

Journalism

Speeches

Novels
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
Collected Poems

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

The Last Ditch
4 What year was the poem published?
1944

1920

1912

1932
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
The Cold War

World War I

World War II

The Great Depression
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
24

55

89

38
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
A soldier

An unborn entity

God

A child
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?
Vampires

Ghouls

Bats

Rats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Imprisonment

Drugs

Torture

All of these
10 The line, "with strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me" contains examples of what poetic device (6)?
Alliteration

Apostrophe

Synecdoche

Personfiication
11 What, according to the speaker, can nurture their growth?
Love

Nature

God

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The mistakes they have made

Their request for death

The thoughts they currently express

The sins they are yet to commit
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?
Rehearsing a play

Taking a class

Learning a language

Reading a pamphlet
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?
Laugh at them

Ridicule them

Inspire them

Lecture them
15 According to the speaker, what will bureaucrats do to them?
Embarrass them

Hector them

Manipulate them

Comfort them
16 According to the speaker, what will lovers do to them?
Prepare them

Emasculate them

Laugh at them

Save them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Dying in the desert

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift

Being cursed by their own children
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
Love

God

The Savior

Emperor
19 The term "lethal automaton" (30) is a euphemism for what?
A machine

A dictator

A gun

A solider
20 What is closest in meaning to the word "dragoon" (30)?
Lure

Dragon

Invite

Coerce
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Trees

Blood-baths

Hands

Machines
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?
Stones and water

Machines and nature

Guns and boots

Robots and books
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Couplet

Tercet

Alexandrine

Quatrain
24 What does the speaker ask for as an alternative to being born?
God

A song

Nurture

Death
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"Spill me"

"Otherwise kill me"

"I fear"

"I am not yet born"

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Study Guide for Prayer Before Birth

Prayer Before Birth study guide contains a biography of Louis MacNeice, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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