Prayer before Birth

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Prayer before Birth Louis Mac Neice (1907-1963)
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I am not yet born O hear me. Let not the
bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the
club-footed ghoul come near me
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I am not yet born, console me. I fear that the
human race may with tall walls wall me, with
strong drugs dope me, with wise lies lure me,
on black racks rack me, in blood-baths
roll me.
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I am not yet born provide me With water to
dandle me, grass to grow for me, tree to talk
to me, sky to sing to me, birds and a white
light in the back of my mind to guide me.
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I am not yet born forgive me For the sins that
in me the world shall commit, my words when
they speak to me, my thoughts when they think
me, my treason engendered by traitors beyond
me, my life when they murder by means of
my hands, my death when they live me.
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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.
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I am not yet born O hear me, Let not the man who
is beast or who thinks he is God come near me
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I am not yet born O fill me With strength
against those who would freeze my humanity,
would dragoon me into a lethal automaton
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
would blow me like thistledown hither and
thither or hither and thither
like water held in the
hands would spill me.
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Let them not make me a stone and let them not
spill me Otherwise kill me.
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Theme

• The poet wants individuality
• The poet wants freedom

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Structure

• Irregular verse
• The poem consists of eight stanzas of unequal
  length
• There is no definite rhyme scheme
• The poet achieves the effect he aims for by
  varying the length of the lines.
• He uses caesura (a break in a line or a pause in
  a line)
• He uses run on lines
• He constantly repeats I, me and my

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Stanza 1

• He states he has not been born
• The baby begs God to hear his prayer.
• God must not let the vampire bat, the stoat or
  the ghoul come near him because he is not yet born

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Vampire bat

• A South American bat which sucks the blood of
  other animals

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Stoat

• A small brown furry animal that eats other animals

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Clubfooted

• Having a badly shaped foot twisted out of its
  position from birth.

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Ghoul

• In the stories of Eastern countries a ghoul is a
  spirit that takes bodies from the grave and eats
  them.

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Line 2 Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or
the stoat or the club-footed ghoul come near me.
The baby first asks to be protected against those
creatures, real or imaginary, that are terrifying
to young children Alliteration bloodsucking
bat Assonance bat or the rat
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Stanza 2

• The unborn child prays that God may give comfort
  to him during his whole future life.

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Line 4 I am not yet born, CONSOLE me. I FEAR that
the HUMAN RACE
The unborn baby is afraid of being dominated by
his fellow-man. He is afraid of losing his
individuality.
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Line 5 I fear that the human race may with tall
walls wall me
He fears that his fellow man would restrict him
in high walls of society, taking away his
freedom. Wall (v) if you wall a person you build
a wall around him Restricting control, prevent,
keep back, limit.
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Line 6 With strong drugs dope me, with wise lies
lure me,
Drug peddlers may try to addict him to powerful
drugs. If you are addicted to a drug, you have
lost your freedom.
Criminals may lie to him to get him involved with
unlawful activities. If involved in crime, he is
not free anymore.
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Line 7 On black racks rack me, in blood-baths
roll me
Rack torture device used during the middle
ages He is afraid he will be tortured or
persecuted by his fellow man.
Blood-baths wars He is afraid he will be forced
to take up weapons against an enemy.
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Stanza 3

• The child is not yet born, yet he begs God to
  enable him to enjoy the beauty of nature in his
  childhood

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He asks for
Water to dandle in Dandle bob up and down
Grass to grow for them
Trees to talk to him
Birds
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Line 10 and a WHITE LIGHT In the BACK OF MY MIND
to GUIDE me,
METAPHOR This metaphor describes the conscience
of the unborn child. His conscience will guide
him through life. His CONSCIENCE must be LIKE an
INNER LIGHT that shows him the way
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Stanza 4

• Although still unborn, the infant begs God to
  forgive him for the sins the world will commit in
  him

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Line 14-17 My words when they speak me The world
will speak unacceptable words through her My
thoughts when they speak me The infant will think
the thoughts the world has placed in his head My
treason engendered by traitors beyond me The
infant will not commit treason, but will be
manipulated by others to commit treason My life
when they murder by means of my hands God must
forgive him for ever being born when they murder
their enemies in time of war by means of his
hands.
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My death when they live me God must forgive him
for his death when the evil done through him by
the world will live on after his death
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Line 12 forgive me for the sins that IN ME The
WORLD SHALL COMMIT MY WORDS when THEY SPEAK ME
METAPHOR The WORLD and THEY to which the child
refers is the UNKNOWN, IMPERSONAL EVIL
FORCE. That is mans inborn sinful nature that
continuously tries to drag man down by putting
wicked words in his mouth.
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STANZA 5

• The unborn baby realizes his dependence on God.

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Line 18-19 rehearse me In the parts I must play
and the cues I must take when
He begs God to rehearse him the various roles he
will have to play during his adulthood. He wants
to learn the cues he will have to follow in
different situations Cue signal to speak,
reminder to speak
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He will need to know what to do or say when old
men lecture him When bureaucrats bully him and
abuse their power He will need to know what to do
when mountains seem to frown at him. Frown
warning to keep away When young people in love
laugh at him Note that love and laugh sounds the
same When the white surf seem to call him to swim
in the sea and be drowned. When the barren desert
invites him to enter it and die of thirst When a
needy beggar refuses to accept a present of money
from him When his own children curse him
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Line 18-19 REHEARSE me in the PARTS I must
PLAY And the CUES I must take WHEN
Imagery of THEATRE is used he begs God to
prepare him like you would prepare an actor for a
performance He must be REHEARSED and he wants to
receive CUES from God.
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STANZA 6

• Let not the MAN who is BEAST or who THINKS he is
  God

Man who is beast man who behaves like an
animal Man who thinks he is God the
Antichrist. The unborn child does not want to
face this enemy of God.
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STANZA 7
The unborn baby pleads for mental and morals
strength to
Withstand those who want to freeze his
humanity Humanity human kindness
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To withstand those who want to turn him into a
robot like creature Dragoon use force to turn
him into one who only follows commands
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To withstand those who want to turn him into a
tiny cog in a big machine
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To withstand those who would turn him into a
thing with only one expression on his
face. Servility behave like a slave
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He begs God to protect him against all those in
authority that would DISSIPATE his whole
being. Dissipate use up foolishly, waste.
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He wants protection against those who would
manipulate him completely. Metaphor He will be
like a thistledown blow around by the wind.
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He wants protection against those who would spill
his life as if it is water. His life is compared
with water running through the fingers of cupped
hands.
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Line 28-29
FILL ME WITH STRENGTH against those who would
FREEZE MY HUMANITY
He wants to be protected against the domineering
bureaucracy. They turn the people of a nation
into mindless robots. The people have no ability
to think for themselves.
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Lines 30-32 DRAGOON me into a LETHAL
AUTOMATON.. MAKE me a COG in a MACHINE A THING
with ONE FACE, a THING
METAPHORS Like a lethal automaton Like a cog in
a machine Like a thing with one face
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Line 34 36 BLOW me LIKE THISTLEDOWN LIKE
WATER held in the hands would SPILL me
These SIMILES illustrate the poets bitterness at
modern man not being allowed to live his own life.
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STANZA 8

• God must not turn him into a stone (petrify him)
• If God cannot protect him against these faceless
  enemies he wants to be born dead
• If you are a stone, you feel nothing.