Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
United States

England

Germany

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

Drama

Speeches

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

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?
1912

1932

1944

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

The Cold War

The Great Depression

World War I
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
38

89

24

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

A child

A soldier

An unborn entity
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?
Rats

Vampires

Ghouls

Bats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Imprisonment

Torture

Drugs

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

Apostrophe

Synecdoche

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

God

A mother

Love
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

Rehearsing a play

Reading a pamphlet
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?
Hector them

Manipulate them

Embarrass them

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

Laugh at them

Emasculate them

Save them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Dying in the desert

Falling from a tree

Being cursed by their own children

A beggar rejecting their gift
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
God

The Savior

Emperor

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

A solider

A gun

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

Trees

Hands

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

Guns and boots

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?
Nurture

Death

A song

God
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"I fear"

"I am not yet born"

"Otherwise kill me"

"Spill 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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