Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
England

United States

Ireland

Germany
2 What other genre of writing did MacNeice pursue in his lifetime?
Drama

Journalism

Speeches

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

The Last Ditch

Collected Poems

Holes in the Sky
4 What year was the poem published?
1912

1944

1920

1932
5 What major conflict was happening at the time MacNeice wrote the poem?
The Great Depression

World War II

The Cold War

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

24

89

38
7 Who is the speaker of the poem?
God

A soldier

An unborn entity

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

Bats

Vampires

Ghouls
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

A mother

Nature

Love
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The thoughts they currently express

The sins they are yet to commit

Their request for death

The mistakes they have made
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?
Rehearsing a play

Learning a language

Taking a class

Reading a pamphlet
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?
Inspire them

Laugh at them

Ridicule them

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

Manipulate them

Hector them

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

Save them

Emasculate them

Laugh at them
17 Which of these scenarios does the speaker not imagine encountering on earth?
Falling from a tree

Being cursed by their own children

Dying in the desert

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

The Savior

God

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

A machine

A solider

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

Invite

Dragon

Coerce
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

Guns and boots

Machines and nature
23 Which of these describes the form of the final lines of the poem?
Couplet

Alexandrine

Tercet

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

God

A song

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

"I am not yet born"

"Spill me"

"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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