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?
Journalism

Drama

Speeches

Novels
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
The Last Ditch

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems

Springboard
4 What year was the poem published?
1920

1912

1944

1932
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
World War I

The Great Depression

World War II

The Cold War
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
55

38

89

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
A soldier

A child

An unborn entity

God
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?
Ghouls

Rats

Vampires

Bats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Drugs

Torture

Imprisonment

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

Apostrophe

Personfiication

Alliteration
11 What, according to the speaker, can nurture their growth?
Nature

God

Love

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The sins they are yet to commit

The thoughts they currently express

Their request for death

The mistakes they have made
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?
Learning a language

Taking a class

Rehearsing a play

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

Laugh at them

Inspire them

Ridicule them
15 According to the speaker, what will bureaucrats do to them?
Hector them

Embarrass them

Manipulate them

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

Prepare them

Laugh at them

Emasculate them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Falling from a tree

Being cursed by their own children

A beggar rejecting their gift

Dying in the desert
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
God

Love

The Savior

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

A gun

A machine

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

Invite

Lure

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

Machines

Blood-baths

Hands
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?
Machines and nature

Robots and books

Stones and water

Guns and boots
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Alexandrine

Tercet

Quatrain

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

A song

Death

Nurture
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"Otherwise kill me"

"I am not yet born"

"Spill me"

"I fear"

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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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