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?

Novels

Drama

Journalism

Speeches
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?

1912

1920

1944

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

World War II

World War I

The Great Depression

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

38

89

55

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

An unborn entity

God

A soldier

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

Rats

Bats

Ghouls

Vampires
9 What is the speaker afraid of?

Torture

Imprisonment

Drugs

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

Personfiication

Alliteration

Synecdoche

Apostrophe
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?

Rehearsing a play

Taking a class

Reading a pamphlet

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

Lecture them

Inspire them

Laugh at 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?

Save them

Laugh at them

Emasculate them

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

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift

Being cursed by their own children

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

God

The Savior

Emperor

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

A machine

A solider

A gun

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

Invite

Lure

Dragon

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

Hands

Machines

Trees

Blood-baths
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?

Stones and water

Guns and boots

Machines and nature

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?

A song

God

Nurture

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

"Spill me"

"I am not yet born"

"Otherwise kill 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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