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?
Journalism

Drama

Novels

Speeches
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
Springboard

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems

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?
The Great Depression

The Cold War

World War II

World War I
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
55

24

38

89
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?
Ghouls

Bats

Vampires

Rats
9 What is the speaker afraid of?
Imprisonment

Drugs

Torture

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?
A mother

God

Love

Nature
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?
Reading a pamphlet

Learning a language

Rehearsing a play

Taking a class
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?
Laugh at them

Inspire them

Ridicule them

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

Manipulate them

Comfort them

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

Prepare them

Save them

Emasculate them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
A beggar rejecting their gift

Being cursed by their own children

Dying in the desert

Falling from a tree
18 According to the speaker, the "man who is beast" also thinks he is what (26)?
Emperor

The Savior

God

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

A machine

A gun

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

Dragon

Lure

Invite
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?
Hands

Machines

Blood-baths

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

Machines and nature

Robots and books

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

Tercet

Quatrain

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

God

A song

Nurture
25 Which of these phrases is repeated throughout the poem?
"Otherwise kill me"

"I am not yet born"

"I fear"

"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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