Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
Germany

Ireland

United States

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

Novels

Speeches

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

Holes in the Sky

Springboard

The Last Ditch
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 II

The Great Depression

World War I

The Cold War
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
89

24

38

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

An unborn entity

A soldier

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

Vampires

Rats

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)?
Synecdoche

Alliteration

Personfiication

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

Love

A mother

God
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The mistakes they have made

The thoughts they currently express

The sins they are yet to commit

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

Taking a class

Reading a pamphlet

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

Lecture them

Ridicule them

Laugh at 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?
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

A beggar rejecting their gift

Falling from a tree

Dying in the desert
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
The Savior

Emperor

God

Love
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)?
Coerce

Lure

Dragon

Invite
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Blood-baths

Machines

Trees

Hands
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?
Stones and water

Guns and boots

Machines and nature

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

Couplet

Tercet

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

God

A song

Nurture
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"Otherwise kill me"

"I am not yet born"

"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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