Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?

England

Ireland

Germany

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?

Holes in the Sky

Springboard

The Last Ditch

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?

1920

1932

1944

1912
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?

The Great Depression

World War I

The Cold War

World War II
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?

89

55

38

24
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?

A child

An unborn entity

A soldier

God
8 Which of these does the speaker not mention in the first stanza of the poem?

Ghouls

Rats

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)?

Personfiication

Synecdoche

Apostrophe

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

Love

God

Nature

A mother
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?

The mistakes they have made

The thoughts they currently express

Their request for death

The sins they are yet to commit
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?

Lecture them

Laugh at them

Ridicule them

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

Embarrass them

Manipulate them

Comfort them

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

Emasculate them

Laugh at them

Prepare them

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

Dying in the desert

Being cursed by their own children

A beggar rejecting their gift

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

Love

Emperor

God

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

A gun

A machine

A dictator

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

Coerce

Dragon

Invite

Lure
21 Which of these images represents manipulation by someone else?

Trees

Blood-baths

Hands

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

Machines and nature

Robots and books

Stones and water

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

Tercet

Quatrain

Couplet

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

God

A song

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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