Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

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Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

England

United States

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?

Collected Poems

Holes in the Sky

Springboard

The Last Ditch
4 What year was the poem published?

1932

1944

1920

1912
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

24

89
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

An unborn entity

A child

A soldier

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

Rats

Bats

Vampires

Ghouls
9 What is the speaker afraid of?

Imprisonment

Torture

Drugs

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?

A mother

Nature

God

Love
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

Their request for death

The mistakes they have made

The sins they are yet to commit

The thoughts they currently express
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?

Taking a class

Reading a pamphlet

Rehearsing a play

Learning a language
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?

Laugh at them

Inspire them

Lecture them

Ridicule 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?

Emasculate them

Prepare them

Save them

Laugh at them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?

A beggar rejecting their gift

Dying in the desert

Falling from a tree

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

The Savior

Emperor

Love

God
19 The term "lethal automaton" (30) is a euphemism for what?

A dictator

A solider

A gun

A machine
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?

Machines

Hands

Blood-baths

Trees
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?

Robots and books

Stones and water

Guns and boots

Machines and nature
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?

Alexandrine

Tercet

Couplet

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

A song

Nurture

Death

God
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?

"I fear"

"I am not yet born"

"Otherwise kill me"

"Spill me"

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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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