Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

United States

Ireland

Germany

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

Drama

Journalism

Novels

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

The Last Ditch

Holes in the Sky

Springboard

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?

1912

1944

1920

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

World War II

The Great Depression

World War I

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

38

55

89

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

God

A soldier

A child

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

Vampires

Ghouls

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)?

Synecdoche

Apostrophe

Alliteration

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

God

Nature

Love

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

The mistakes they have made

The sins they are yet to commit

The thoughts they currently express

Their request for death
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?

Reading a pamphlet

Taking a class

Learning a language

Rehearsing a play
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?

Ridicule them

Inspire them

Lecture them

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

Manipulate them

Comfort them

Embarrass them

Hector 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

Falling from a tree

Dying in the desert

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

The Savior

God

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)?

Lure

Coerce

Dragon

Invite
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

Machines and nature

Guns and boots

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

Couplet

Alexandrine

Tercet

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

A song

Nurture

Death

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

"Spill me"

"I fear"

"Otherwise kill me"

"I am not yet born"

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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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