Prayer Before Birth Quizzes

Prayer Before Birth Quiz 1

1 Where was Louis MacNeice from?
United States

England

Ireland

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

Drama

Journalism

Speeches
3 In what collection was "Prayer Before Birth" published?
The Last Ditch

Springboard

Holes in the Sky

Collected Poems
4 What year was the poem published?
1920

1912

1944

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

World War I

The Cold War

The Great Depression
6 How old was MacNeice when he died?
89

55

24

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?
Vampires

Bats

Rats

Ghouls
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)?
Alliteration

Personfiication

Apostrophe

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

Love

A mother

God
12 For what does the speaker ask forgiveness?
The mistakes they have made

Their request for death

The sins they are yet to commit

The thoughts they currently express
13 What metaphor does the speaker use to ask for preparation for life on earth?
Taking a class

Rehearsing a play

Reading a pamphlet

Learning a language
14 According to the speaker, what will old men do to them?
Lecture them

Ridicule them

Laugh at them

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

Embarrass them

Hector them

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

Emasculate them

Prepare them

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

Dying in the desert

Being cursed by their own children

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

Emperor

The Savior

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

A gun

A dictator

A solider
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?
Machines

Hands

Trees

Blood-baths
22 Which two fates does the speaker imagine for people on earth?
Guns and boots

Machines and nature

Stones and water

Robots and books
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?
Nurture

God

Death

A song
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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