Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
Ireland

Germany

England

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

Speeches

Drama

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

Springboard

The Last Ditch

Holes in the Sky
4 What year was the poem published?
1920

1944

1912

1932
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
World War II

World War I

The Great Depression

The Cold War
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
38

89

24

55
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
An unborn entity

A soldier

God

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

Bats

Vampires

Rats
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)?
Synecdoche

Alliteration

Apostrophe

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

Nature

Love

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
Their request for death

The sins they are yet to commit

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

Reading a pamphlet

Learning a language

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

Ridicule them

Inspire 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

Prepare them

Laugh at them

Save them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Being cursed by their own children

Falling from a tree

A beggar rejecting their gift

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

God

The Savior

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

A solider

A dictator

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

Invite

Dragon

Lure
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?
Stones and water

Robots and books

Machines and nature

Guns and boots
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Couplet

Quatrain

Tercet

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

A song

Nurture

God
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"Spill me"

"I fear"

"Otherwise kill 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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