Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

England

Germany

United States

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

Drama

Speeches

Novels

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

Collected Poems

Springboard

The Last Ditch

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

1944

1920

1912

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

The Cold War

The Great Depression

World War II

World War I
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?

55

24

38

89
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

A soldier

An unborn entity

God

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

Ghouls

Rats

Vampires

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)?

Personfiication

Alliteration

Synecdoche

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

Nature

A mother

God

Love
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

The sins they are yet to commit

The thoughts they currently express

Their request for death

The mistakes they have made
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?

Taking a class

Rehearsing a play

Reading a pamphlet

Learning a language
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?

Ridicule them

Laugh at them

Lecture them

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

Embarrass them

Hector them

Manipulate them

Comfort 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?

Being cursed by their own children

Dying in the desert

A beggar rejecting their gift

Falling from a tree
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?

Love

Emperor

The Savior

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

A gun

A dictator

A machine

A solider
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

Machines

Blood-baths

Hands
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

Quatrain

Tercet

Alexandrine
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?

"I fear"

"Spill me"

"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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