Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
Germany

England

United States

Ireland
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

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

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

1920

1932

1912
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?
24

89

38

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

An unborn entity

A child

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

Vampires

Rats

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)?
Alliteration

Synecdoche

Personfiication

Apostrophe
11 What, according to the speaker, can nurture their growth?
God

Love

A mother

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

Their request for death

The mistakes they have made

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

Learning a language

Rehearsing a play

Taking a class
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?
Inspire them

Ridicule them

Laugh at 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?
Laugh at them

Emasculate them

Save them

Prepare them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Being cursed by their own children

Dying in the desert

A beggar rejecting their gift

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

Love

Emperor

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

A machine

A solider

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

Dragon

Invite

Lure
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?
Guns and boots

Machines and nature

Robots and books

Stones and water
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

Death

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

"Spill me"

"I am not yet born"

"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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