Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
England

United States

Germany

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

Journalism

Novels

Drama
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
Collected Poems

The Last Ditch

Holes in the Sky

Springboard
4 What year was the poem published?
1920

1932

1944

1912
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
The Great Depression

World War I

The Cold War

World War II
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
38

55

89

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

A child

A soldier

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

Ghouls

Bats

Vampires
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)?
Apostrophe

Synecdoche

Alliteration

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

Love

God

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

The mistakes they have made

Their request for death

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

Reading a pamphlet

Rehearsing a play

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

Ridicule them

Inspire them

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

Manipulate them

Embarrass them

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

Emasculate them

Prepare them

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

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift

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

The Savior

Love

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

A machine

A dictator

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

Coerce

Lure

Dragon
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Trees

Hands

Machines

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

Machines and nature

Stones and water

Guns and boots
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Couplet

Alexandrine

Quatrain

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

A song

Nurture

Death
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"I am not yet born"

"Otherwise kill me"

"I fear"

"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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