English lit - prayer before birth

'Prayer before birth'

The idea of a 'prayer' is an idea of desperation and fear for the world, it juxtaposes the excitement of birth with a synical tone to the world.

Before birth tells us that the narrative voice is an unborn child and this evokes idead of innocence and purity, which juxtapose the picture of the world which is presented through the poem.

'I am not yet born'

The use of the first person evokes empathy and present the poem as a heartfelt plea to the reader.

This is an anaphoric phrase which is repeated in a hypnotic fashion, it is used to highlight the innocence and vulnerability of an unborn child to the evils of the world.

'O hear me' 'console me'

This is an emotive phrase that evokes the idea of desperation and plea from the child.

It also takes on a similar tone to prayer as if the child commands a God to hear his problem.

The child pleas in desperation for comfort amidst a world of evil

'bloodsucking bat' 'clubfooted ghoul'

This is dark imagery which is reflective of the evils in the world, and is indicative of the fears that a child would posses

The use of alliteration highlights this fear, and the use of a realistic creature, like a 'bat' highlights that evil truly has become a reality in the world.

The image of a ghoul is spiritual and is similar to that seen in a fairytale, this further highlights the innocence of childhood.

'wise lies lure me' and 'drugs dope me'

This is an oxymoronic phrase that emphasizes manipulation in the world today.

The drugs are metaphorical and are indicative of the fact that a child is numb to the evils of the world, as they should be, it furthers the idea of manipulation

'trees to talk to me' and the 'sky to sing to me'

The alliteration is used to highlight the contrast between the natural beauty of creation and the evil that humans cause in it. The repetition of the 't' sound emulates a clock to highlight that it is only time until the child is exposed to human evil too.

Nature is personified to should its power and that it causes good in the world

The poem was written during WW2, this was a time where nature was being destroyed

'white light to guide me'

The light is a metaphor used to describe God or an angelic image.

A child asking for wisdom is an uncommon idea, it highlights the desperation that they have for the world to be made right.

'forgive me for the sins'

This is a continuation of the prayer-like tone in the poem.

The idea of sin juxtaposes the beauty of creation, but more so the purity associated with childhood.

'they live me' 'they speak me' until 'my death'

The list of emotive and passive verbs increases the tempo of the poem and highlights the increasing loss of control that the narrative voice has over evil as time passes.

The use of passive verbs portrays the child as just another 'cog in the works', and that they are simply born into leave with no input.

The mention of the narrative voice's death is a horrific juxtaposition to the image of an unborn child and is an evil image in itself.

'rehearse me in the parts I must play'

This is a metaphorical description of the child's life, describing it as a theatrical act, to highlight that life is simply a facade.

The use of alliteration is used to highlight the child mocking evil in the world, and that it should not be a reality.

'calls me to doom' as 'children curse me'

This dark and defiant imagery is used to highlight that the whole world is against the narrative voice and so they feel isolation.

This is further highlighted in the irony of a child being sworn at by other children, who we perceive to be innocent but have been moulded by the evils of the world.

'man who is beast' or 'thinks he is God'

This is a metaphor at two extremes

It highlights the uncivilised nature of society, describing it as an animal, and that it exudes a lack fo decorum through evil.

The latter metaphor is used to highlight the arrogant nature of mankind, and that they posses such power that they can control a life as a God would too, this was seen at the time through fascism in WW2.

'freeze my humanity' as a 'cog in a machine'

These metaphors highlight the lack of control the child has over their own life.

It shows that we are simply a slave to society with no room for morals or individuality.

It dehumanises the child, and shows that they are simply born to die.

'make me a stone'

The stone is a double entendre, not only is it a metaphor for a grave to highlight that life in society is worse than death itself, but it also shows a lack of emotion which the child is forced to have to the evils fo the world.

[STRUCTURE] Enjambment and internal rhyme

'hear me' not to 'come near me'

increases the tempo to highlight the fear of the child to the evils of the world

the writer uses internal rhyme to indicate the relationship between this fear and that it is the reason for the child's plea to God.

[STRUCTURE] Alliteration and assonance

'tall walls wall me'

The use of assonance creates a nursery rhyme style to the poem to highlight the theme of childhood.

Alliteration highlights the contrast to the evils of the world and that it is cruel to expose a child to them.

The use of passive verbs through the poem shows the child's lack of control and this particular example creates an image of entrapment like a prison.

[STRUCTURE] Short + emphatic phrases

'otherwise kill me'

The ending is short and emphatic, overall very poignant, it is an emotive phrase which juxtaposes the 'in utero imagery through the poem.

The child themselves states that a life in such an evil society would be worse than death itself.

Context of poem

- Written during WW2 to express deep concern for children being born in such an awful time.

Structure of poem

- Dramatic Monologue from an unborn child

- 1st Person Perspective

- 8 stanzas

- Free Verse - rhythm, imperatives, internal rhyme in each stanza in its first and last line (e.g. 'hear' [line 1] + 'near' [line 3] ; 'console' [line 4] + 'roll' [line 7])

- Stanzas 1, 2 + 8 each have 2 sentences, while all other stanzas are made up of one long sentence.

- Stanzas 6 + 8 break up the fast, flowing pace to emphasise their contents.

Themes of poem

- Fear, criticality, anguish, cynical

- Horrors of war, humanity, fascism, fear, manipulation

Prayer Before Birth [Title]

- Religious connotations, fear, desperation

“I am not yet born; O hear me.” [stanza 1]

- Anaphora of 'I am not yet born' - at the start of every stanza except stanza 8.

- 'O' - interjection, shows abrupt emotion

- 'Hear me' - Imperative

“Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the

club-footed ghoul come near me.” [stanza 1]

- Nightmarish, vampirish creatures listed - these textbook, almost story-like fears will contrast with greater fears of the world that will be covered in the following stanzas.

- 'Club-footed ghoul' - ableism present during MacNeice's time - any disability was seen as 'evil'

“I am not yet born, console me.

I fear that the human race may with tall walls wall me,” [stanza 2]

- Use of the verb 'console' - despite not even being born, the speaker is already heartbroken and in need of comfort - suggests a brutality to the world.

- Sense of imprisonment + assonance

“ with strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me,

on black racks rack me, in blood-baths roll me.” [stanza 2]

- Continuation of assonance and alliteration in this stanza - restricting structure represents idea of torture, manipulation, entrapment, yet this is juxtaposed with the nursery rhyme-like style.

- Fear of being taken advantage of.

- 'Wise lies lure me' - Paradoxical? - How can a lie be wise? - Despite this, he has been deceived by it.

- 'Black racks rack me' - medieval torture method - evil

- 'Blood-baths' links to the bloodsucking bat - gory, horrific image

“I am not yet born; provide me

With water to dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to talk

to me, sky to sing to me, birds and a white light

in the back of my mind to guide me.” [stanza 3]

- Contrast to the other stanzas - Beautiful nature - contrast, jarring, shows the positive aspects of the world amidst the horror. This paragraph of hope is crushed and enclosed by pessimism, fear, manipulation.

- 'Water' - connotations of purity

- Dandle - cradle gently, comforting

- 'White light' - Metaphor for God ('s wisdom and guidance) - religious

"I am not yet born; forgive me

For the sins that in me the world shall commit, my words

when they speak me, my thoughts when they think me," [stanza 4]

- Already a given that they will sin before birth - connotes a sense of hopelessness + pessimism

- Manipulation - Cannot take full accountability for the actions since they are due to the influence of others.

- Loss of control

" my treason engendered by traitors beyond me,

my life when they murder by means of my

hands, my death when they live me." [stanza 4]

- FYI - engendered = caused - nothing to do with gender

- 'my death when they live me' - another paradoxical phrase - highlights the restricted quality of life; death sets the speaker free.

- Again, pessimistic - the baby has not even been born and yet death seems a lot more pleasant

"I am not yet born; rehearse me

In the parts I must play and the cues I must take when

old men lecture me, bureaucrats hector me, mountains

frown at me, lovers laugh at me, the white

waves call me to folly and the desert calls

me to doom and the beggar refuses

my gift and my children curse me." [stanza 5]

- Loss of free will - restrictive society - all people are actors, playing an assigned part

- Use of modal verb 'must' repeated - lack of choice

- The world is against this unborn child already

- Interesting how nature is referenced again, but not in a positive light like in stanza 3 - nature seems to be disappointed

- 'lovers' + 'children' - Even the ones the child will love will be against them

- 'doom' again, religious language - end of the world

- The next generations will be affected by this inevitable cycle forevermore, according to this child

"I am not yet born; O hear me,

Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God

come near me." [stanza 6]

- Repitition of imperative 'hear me' - confirming acknoledgement from God for the prayer - desperate for someone to support unborn child when everything is against them

- 'who is beast' - links back to bloodsucking bat/rat/stoat - evil

- 'who thinks he is God' - reference to fascist leaders in control at the time - abusing authority - WW2 + Hitler

"I am not yet born; O fill me

With strength against those who would freeze my

humanity, would dragoon me into a lethal automaton," [stanza 7]

- 'Fill me' - Fear of feeling empty and numb on the inside

- 'Freeze my humanity' - Society wants to make the unborn child cold, hard, and have a lack of individuality

- 'lethal automaton' - Ruthless killing machine with no feelings - metaphor for dehumanisation, particularly relevant in a time like WW2

" would make me a cog in a machine, a thing with

one face, a thing, and against all those

who would dissipate my entirety, would

blow me like thistledown hither and

thither or hither and thither

like water held in the

hands would spill me." [stanza 7]

- Lack of individuality

- Repititon of 'thing' - ambiguous, naive + innocent, presents a childish voice amidst the destruction and horror

- Assonance - playful, childish, easily manipulated - though there is a lack of control, in a way it's still natural

- 'Water' purity - reference to line 9 - yet this purity has now been lost and 'spilt'

"Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me.

Otherwise kill me." [stanza 8]

- Does not wish to become cold and emotionless, despite fascism shaping its people to act like so

- Repitition of spill - does not want a meaningless existance and a lack of human wholeness.

- Abrupt, short sentence, dark - the child would rather not enter this world.

What is 'prayer before birth' about

it is a poem of prayers from an unborn child praying for protection against contemporary society and pressures. It expresses Macneice's fears and warnings about growing up.

what themes are in 'prayer before birth'

religion, fear, opportunities, identity, nature, authority and power, innocence

what is the form and structure of 'prayer before birth', and what effect does this have

-eight stanzas of free verse, increasing in size, all following a negative trajectory

-as stanza length increases , so does the magnitude of responsibilities that the unborn child is comtemplating

-each line slips away from page showing the speaker is losing authority and power until he stabilises himself in the last stanza where a normal structure is found, leaving strength and an impact

how do the fears change, stanza to stanza

stanza one - childish fears, superstitious things

stanza two - fears of peer pressure

stanza three - fears of disappearing nature

stanza four -maturing awareness that he will commit sins

stanza five - expectations he must uphold within politics, the workplace and the family

stanza six - dictatorships

stanza seven - fear of communism and a stripping of individuality

-with each stanza, the fears mature and show a progress of maturity

what poems could be compared with 'prayer before birth'

-If (growing up, fears, perseverance)

-half past two (childish fears, maturity, time)

-The tyger (religion, asking god)

what effect does this poem have on the reader

it makes the reader contemplate the issues surrounding our contemporary society and the challenges youth will face as growing up. It is emphasised by constant imperatives which address the reader, making them think.

analyse - 'I am not yet born; O hear me.'

-opening lien with the first person shows this could representative of anyone

-objective perspective of world so is not yet tainted by the issues

-foregrounds refrain 'yet', birth is inevitable.

-imperative 'hear me' is plaintive and simple, 'O' makes it sound more like a cry for help

-endstop makes him subject of stanza

analyse - 'Let not the blood sucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the club-footed ghoul come near me'

-polysyndeton emphasises the amount of fears a young child has with the alliteration of 'b' enhancing this fear and imagination

analyse - 'I fear that the human race may with tall walls wall me, with strong drugs dope me'

-depicting the human race against the individual speaker creates a hyperbolic image of entrapment with the 'tall walls' enclosing him

-the alliteration of 'walls wall' evokes a sense of claustrophobia, enhanced by the repetition and monosyllabic nature

-the monosyllabic 'strong drugs dope me' creates emphasis on each cacophonous word

-shows power of the humans against an individual

analyse - 'provide me / With water to dandle me, grass to grow for me, trees to talk to me, sky to sing to me'

-shows positive light on nature, contrasting with the negative light put on to people and society

-personification of nature enhances the liveliness and wonder of it

-alliteration of 'trees to talk to' conveys an idea of loneliness for there is no one else to talk to

analyse - 'rehearse me In the parts i must play and the cues i must take'

-this gives an idea to the social conditioning and expectations of conformity which doesn't relate to an authentic self, 'play' has connotations of acting and pretend

-the plosive of 'parts' and 'play' emulate the structure society puts you in while the model verb 'must' removes free will, there is little choice in today's society

analyse - 'mountains frown at me' and 'the desert calls me to doom'

-as the poem as progressed, even nature is being described in a negative way with the mountain and the desert being personified to 'frown' and to call him to 'doom'.

-'frown' and 'doom' are words holding negative connotations with the alliteration of 'desert' and 'doom' enhancing this threatening action

analyse - 'Let not the man who is beast or thinks he is God come near me'

-juxtaposition of 'beast' and 'god' shows the reader the contrast people they will come across in life

-shows fear for the authority and dictatorship they may face

-this line is in the shortest stanza shows bluntly, the extent of the atrocities found in life

analyse - 'otherwise kill me.'

-this is the last line in the poem which conveys the idea that if the world this unborn child will be brought into is full of hatred and pressures, the life is not worth living

-it is a powerful ending with an endstop to create further impact