Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

By Spata, Chelsea · Last reviewed June 24, 2022

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

Germany

Ireland

United States

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

Speeches

Novels

Drama

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

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems

Springboard

The Last Ditch
4 What year was the poem published?

1944

1932

1912

1920
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?

World War I

World War II

The Cold War

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

89

55

38

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

A soldier

God

A child

An unborn entity
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?

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?

Love

A mother

Nature

God
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

The thoughts they currently express

The mistakes they have made

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?

Laugh at them

Inspire them

Lecture them

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

Embarrass them

Comfort them

Hector them

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

Prepare them

Emasculate them

Save them

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

A beggar rejecting their gift

Falling from a tree

Being cursed by their own children

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

The Savior

God

Love

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

A solider

A gun

A dictator

A machine
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?

Hands

Blood-baths

Machines

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

Robots and books

Guns and boots

Stones and water

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

Tercet

Alexandrine

Quatrain

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

A song

Death

Nurture

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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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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