Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
England

Ireland

Germany

United States
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?
The Last Ditch

Collected Poems

Springboard

Holes in the Sky
4 What year was the poem published?
1932

1944

1920

1912
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
The Cold War

The Great Depression

World War I

World War II
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
55

89

24

38
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

A soldier

A child

An unborn entity
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

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

Personfiication

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

Their request for death

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?
Taking a class

Learning a language

Reading a pamphlet

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

Laugh at them

Inspire them

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

Hector them

Manipulate them

Embarrass 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

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)?
God

Love

Emperor

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

A machine

A dictator

A gun
20 What is closest in meaning to the word "dragoon" (30)?
Lure

Dragon

Coerce

Invite
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Machines

Blood-baths

Hands

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

Robots and books

Stones and water

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

Tercet

Couplet

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

Nurture

God

Death
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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