Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

By Spata, Chelsea · Last reviewed June 24, 2022

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

Germany

United States

England

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

Speeches

Novels

Journalism

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

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

The Last Ditch

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?

1932

1920

1912

1944
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?

The Cold War

World War I

World War II

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

89

38

24

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

God

A child

An unborn entity

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

Rats

Ghouls

Vampires

Bats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?

Drugs

Imprisonment

Torture

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

Personfiication

Apostrophe

Alliteration

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

Love

God

A mother

Nature
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?

Taking a class

Learning a language

Reading a pamphlet

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

Lecture them

Inspire them

Laugh at them

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

Manipulate them

Embarrass them

Comfort them

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

Laugh at them

Save them

Emasculate them

Prepare them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?

Being cursed by their own children

Dying in the desert

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)?

God

Love

Emperor

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

A gun

A machine

A solider

A dictator
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

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?

Quatrain

Tercet

Couplet

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

God

Death

Nurture

A song
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?

"I fear"

"Otherwise kill me"

"Spill 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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