Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

Germany

Ireland

England

United States
2 What other genre of writing did MacNeice pursue in his lifetime?

Novels

Journalism

Drama

Speeches
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?

Holes in the Sky

The Last Ditch

Springboard

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?

1932

1944

1912

1920
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?

World War I

The Cold War

World War II

The Great Depression
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?

89

24

55

38
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

A child

A soldier

God

An unborn entity
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?

Ghouls

Rats

Bats

Vampires
9 What is the speaker afraid of?

Imprisonment

Drugs

Torture

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

Apostrophe

Synecdoche

Alliteration

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

Love

Nature

A mother

God
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

The sins they are yet to commit

Their request for death

The thoughts they currently express

The mistakes they have made
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?

Lecture them

Ridicule them

Laugh at them

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

Hector them

Comfort them

Embarrass them

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

Emasculate them

Laugh at them

Save them

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

Dying in the desert

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift

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

Emperor

Love

The Savior

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

A gun

A solider

A dictator

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

Dragon

Lure

Invite

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

Machines

Blood-baths

Hands

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

Robots and books

Guns and boots

Stones and water

Machines and nature
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?

"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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