Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
Ireland

England

Germany

United States
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?
Springboard

Collected Poems

The Last Ditch

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

1944

1912

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

The Cold War

World War I

The Great Depression
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
24

55

89

38
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
A soldier

God

An unborn entity

A child
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

Torture

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

Apostrophe

Synecdoche

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

A mother

Love

Nature
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The sins they are yet to commit

The mistakes they have made

Their request for death

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?
Laugh at them

Lecture them

Ridicule them

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

Manipulate them

Embarrass them

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

Emasculate them

Save them

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

Being cursed by their own children

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)?
The Savior

God

Emperor

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

A solider

A dictator

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

Coerce

Lure

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

Stones and water

Machines and nature

Guns and boots
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?
A song

God

Nurture

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

"Spill me"

"I am not yet born"

"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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