Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
England

United States

Ireland

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

Journalism

Speeches

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

Collected Poems

Holes in the Sky

The Last Ditch
4 What year was the poem published?
1932

1912

1920

1944
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?
89

24

38

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
An unborn entity

A child

God

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

Bats

Ghouls

Vampires
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Torture

Imprisonment

Drugs

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

Alliteration

Apostrophe

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

A mother

Nature

Love
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?
Learning a language

Reading a pamphlet

Rehearsing a play

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

Lecture them

Inspire them

Laugh at 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?
Emasculate them

Prepare them

Save them

Laugh at them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Dying in the desert

Being cursed by their own children

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
Love

Emperor

God

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)?
Dragon

Invite

Coerce

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

Machines

Hands

Blood-baths
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?
Quatrain

Alexandrine

Couplet

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

A song

Death

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

"Spill me"

"I fear"

"Otherwise kill 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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