Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
United States

Ireland

England

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

Drama

Journalism

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

Holes in the Sky

The Last Ditch

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?
1912

1932

1920

1944
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
The Cold War

The Great Depression

World War I

World War II
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
89

55

38

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?
Vampires

Bats

Ghouls

Rats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Torture

Drugs

Imprisonment

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

Apostrophe

Synecdoche

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

Love

God

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The thoughts they currently express

The sins they are yet to commit

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

Rehearsing a play

Taking a class

Reading a pamphlet
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

Comfort them

Manipulate them
16 According to the speaker, what will lovers do to them?
Laugh at them

Save them

Prepare them

Emasculate them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
A beggar rejecting their gift

Dying in the desert

Being cursed by their own children

Falling from a tree
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
The Savior

God

Love

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

A dictator

A machine

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

Coerce

Lure

Invite
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Machines

Trees

Blood-baths

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

Stones and water

Guns and boots

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

Couplet

Alexandrine

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

God

A song

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

"I fear"

"I am not yet born"

"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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