Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
Ireland

England

United States

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

Novels

Journalism

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

The Last Ditch

Springboard

Holes in the Sky
4 What year was the poem published?
1912

1944

1932

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

The Great Depression

The Cold War

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

55

24

89
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
An unborn entity

A soldier

God

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

Bats

Vampires

Ghouls
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Torture

Drugs

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

Apostrophe

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 thoughts they currently express

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?
Taking a class

Learning a language

Rehearsing a play

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

Lecture them

Inspire them

Ridicule 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?
Save them

Laugh at them

Prepare them

Emasculate 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)?
Love

The Savior

Emperor

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

A solider

A machine

A dictator
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?
Hands

Blood-baths

Machines

Trees
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?
Alexandrine

Quatrain

Couplet

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

Death

God

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

"Otherwise kill me"

"Spill 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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