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?
Novels

Speeches

Journalism

Drama
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
The Last Ditch

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems
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 Cold War

World War II

World War I

The Great Depression
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
55

38

89

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
A child

A soldier

An unborn entity

God
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?
Bats

Rats

Vampires

Ghouls
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)?
Alliteration

Synecdoche

Personfiication

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

A mother

Love

God
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
Their request for death

The sins they are yet to commit

The mistakes they have made

The thoughts they currently express
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?
Reading a pamphlet

Learning a language

Taking a class

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?
Hector them

Manipulate them

Embarrass them

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

Save 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

Dying in the desert

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

Love

God

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

A dictator

A gun

A solider
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?
Blood-baths

Hands

Trees

Machines
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?
Guns and boots

Stones and water

Robots and books

Machines and nature
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Couplet

Quatrain

Tercet

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

God

Death

Nurture
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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