Prayer Before Birth

for IGCSE English: Anthology Section C: Exam Comparative Poetry

An introduction to this text and to the examination comparison task

Mr Elkin-Jones, Cokethorpe School, September 2011 imej@cokethorpe.org

Louis MacNeice 1907-1963

Louis MacNeice born September 12, 1907, in Belfast, Ireland. Attended Oxford University: classics and philosophy. 1930, married Giovanna Ezra. 1930 accepted post as classics lecturer, University of Birmingham. 1941 joined BBC as a staff writer and producer. MacNeice found an audience for his work through British radio. MacNeice was as mistrustful of political programs as he was of philosophical systems. Was candid about the ambiguities of his political attitudes. Chose to live the majority of his adult life in London MacNeice frequently returned to the landscapes of his childhood. Took great pride in his Irish heritage. In addition to poetry and radio dramas, also wrote verse translation The Agamemnon of Aeschylus (1936), translated Goethe's Faust (1951), and collaborated with Auden on the travelogue Letters from Iceland (1937). 1963, on location with a BBC team, went into mineshaft to check on sound effects. Caught pneumonia. He died on September 3, 1963 He was 55 years old.

Which are the poems on the theme of Childhood?

If Prayer Before Birth Half Past Two Piano Hide and Seek

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. 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. 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. 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, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me, my life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me. 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. I am not yet born; O hear me, Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God come near me. 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 blow me like thistledown hither and thither or hither and thither like water held in the hands would spill me. Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me.

Prayer Before Birth What is the GASP?

Genre: Poetry; free verse Audience: 1944: citizens also experiencing WWII 2011: students of poetry; the literate Subject: The pre-natal prayers of the unborn child to protect it against the horrors of the contemporary world of 1944 Purpose: (context related) 1944: possibly cathartic expression of MacNeices fears of the state of war-torn Europe 2011: possibly as warning against a return to apocalypse?

Excellent YouTube reading and BBC documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpdoq5-TVE8

[accessed 09/11/2011]

Context
Social & Historical Written in 1944 Bombing of London War grinding to climax Literary and Cultural The writer today should be not so much the mouthpiece of a communityas its conscience, its critical faculty, its generous instinct. -Louis MacNeice, 1946

The subject matter clarified verse by verse

Verse 1: positioning the reader

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.

The first fear refers to all the frightening things of the night, both real and imaginary.

How are we positioned by the text in this opening verse? What do we mean by being positioned by the text? How are these guys positioned by the words cracked, growled, roared?

Verse 2: fear of coercion

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.

Next is the fear of being closed in by lies and persuasion, being led by drugs, tortured both mentally and physically, and being made to participate in warfare and other massacres.

Verse 3: the vision of a better world

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.

The poet makes a plea for the good things of life which today are fast disappearing: clean water, love, forests, birds and purity ("white light") as a guide.

Verse 4: forgiveness for future actions

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, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me, my life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me.

The child asks for forgiveness for all the sins that the world is going to make him commit in the future: his wrong words, his evil thoughts, those times when he is led to commit treason, the times when he will be forced to kill other people ultimately for his own death of spirit, because he has been forced to give into these social pressures.

Verse 5: desire to act with guidance

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. The child asks to be guided into the part he must act in this dramatic performance of life so that he is able to perform his role correctly, and that he be given all the right clues on how to react when important people lecture him or laugh at him. Note the metaphor of the stage. Note too the extended personification: mountains frowning, deserts calling, etc.

Verse 6: protection from tyrants

I am not yet born; O hear me, Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God come near me. A plea is made that tyrants and autocrats (like Adolph Hitler) may not be allowed to come near him.

Verse 7: chaos; the metaphor of the machine

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 blow me like thistledown hither and thither or hither and thither like water held in the hands would spill me.

He asks for the strength not to become a killing machine ("lethal automaton") or just a part in a machine ("cog in a machine"): he pleads that he be not allowed to become inhuman ("a thing") or something that is completely at the mercy of others ("blow me like thistledown hither and thither") or spilt as if he were just water.

Verse Eight: deneumont

Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me. His final plea is that his heart may not turn to stone, or his life be wasted. Failing that, he would rather be aborted right away.

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. 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. 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. 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, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me, my life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me. 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. I am not yet born; O hear me, Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God come near me. 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 blow me like thistledown hither and thither or hither and thither like water held in the hands would spill me. Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me.

Key features: overview Form: Eight verses (not stanzas; not consistent lines) Free verse (no beats) No end line rhymes (but does have internal ones) Shape significant reminiscent of Psalms (sung prayers, sung) Or Isaiah, or Jeremiah prophets of the future Structure: Repetition of First line as a ritualistic refrain; Statement, then imperative tense command Ends with final command Language: Use of the vocative O in supplication to God Biblical language: imagery, sentence structure Also very modern lexis as well Sounds emphasized Only one simile throughout Present tense used: I am not yet born Imperative verbs much used console me.
Excellent YouTube reading and BBC documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpdoq5-TVE8
[accessed 09/11/2011]

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. 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. 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. 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, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me, my life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me. 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. I am not yet born; O hear me, Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God come near me. 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 blow me like thistledown hither and thither or hither and thither like water held in the hands would spill me. Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me.

Forms compared: Prayer Before Birth and Psalm 51, verses 17-23.

What do you notice about the forms (shapes) of these two texts?

Form, Structure, Language

Verse 1: positioning the reader

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. Form Short Free verse Indented lines Style of prayer Structure Opens with statement of fact Yet obviously not Must be spirit/soul of baby Echoes the Hail Mary (?) Language O uses the vocative tense Monosyllables in 2nd line Pace rolled on as a result Mammals listed associated with evil Images of hell and deformity

Verse 2: fear of coercion

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. Form More detail after opening call having to be consoled before birth = Structure Verbs on each first line: hear; console; provide; forgive; rehearse; hear; fill indicate focus of the verse Language Assonance = creates rolling, inevitable pace Internal rhyme Wise lies lure me.black racks rack = fearsome chant-like quality; ritualistic quality of the soothsayer Oxymoron wise lies enforces idea of trickery Imagery staggeringly graphic bloodbaths roll me All echoes the context of 1944/War

Verse 3: the vision of a better world

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. F&S As before Language No words more than two syllable = language of a innocent Images of life are heady; life-affirming, partly created by the supernatural/surreal personification of trees and birds Mystical white light hints at a pure vision Joyful contrast from previous verses = provides shock of next verses Whole poem full of personal pronouns: I, me, my = this provides the intimate feeling of confession Dandle = to dance an infant in the lap/on the knees = family image

Verse 4: forgiveness for future actions

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, my treason engendered by traitors beyond me, my life when they murder by means of my hands, my death when they live me. Structure +1 more line from last verse Language Most overly Biblical language so far: forgive; sins; shall commit = sustains and deepens the confessional effect, in line with content Strong sense of inevitable betrayal, and conspiracy = reminiscent of that of Jesus = fits poems neo-religious texture for the sins in me the world shall commit = a sense of original sin in all of us, but it is the pre-existing world that will encourage (engender) these sins. Strong use of paradox = my death when they live me

Verse 5: desire to act with guidance

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. Language Extended Stage metaphor = the roles to navigate in life; none pleasant Lecture, hector (internal rhyme), frown, laugh, refuses, curse = visceral verbs Folly, doom, beggar refuses my gift = lexis generally of rejection and humiliation Tone: If life is to be this bad, is it worth it? - Even the reader doubts it now =

Verse 6: protection from tyrants

I am not yet born; O hear me, Let not the man who is beast or who thinks he is God come near me. Form Opens with 2nd of 3 vocative exclamation s. Profoundly short, for emphasis on message Structure 3 lines = almost a hiatus (pause in Greek) before the final descent into chaos and death Language Technically, whole verse is one sentence Acts as an uber-warning the man who is beastor thinks he is God Strong echoes in tone of Revelations (final book of new testament) or Prophet Ezekiel (old testament) A clear contemporary reference to Hitler as beast, and his delusional nature as thinking he is God.

Verse 7: chaos; the metaphor of the machine

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 blow me like thistledown hither and thither or hither and thither like water held in the hands would spill me.

Form & Structure Longest verse; a single sentence.

Languag e

War destroys the soul, character: become a thing

Abstract nouns dominate: strength, humanity, entirety One cannot be spilled literallyfigurative simile = Soul? Much repetition = desperate pleading

Verse Eight: denouement

Let them not make me a stone and let them not spill me. Otherwise kill me.

Form Final thought

Structure Line and half line = terminal impact of text. This is no coda (tail, Italian); this is the core message of the text

Language All monosyllables, except the adverb otherwise = unambiguously simple, primary language: reverberates with finality Horrific idea that the pre-natal child would elect for death instead of lifebut the life described is worse than death.

Rhyme with spill and kill = ties the meaning meaning together

Comparing poems: an exam approach Try this 4 paragraph essay planning task yourself
Device Genre Audience Subject Purpose Attitudes/Values/Idea s Sound techniques Visual techniques Imagery Vocabulary Conclude:
Effect and value of each text

Prayer Before Birth

If (or whichever)

MacNeices contribution to Poetry?

His early work revealed technical virtuosity, a painters eye for an image...suspicious of all rigid systems, whether political or philosophical, he worked to establish some pattern from lifes flux. He used most of the classic verse forms, but his contribution was his deployment of assonance, internal rhymes, and halfrhymes, and ballad-like repetitions that he had absorbed from the Irishy of his childhood.
The Oxford Companion to English Literature, ed. Margaret Drabble 1985

Further links and references

1 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_MacNeice Full biography and background to texts. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learninggetwritingniwh_macn eice.shtml Superb BBC profile, with links to his life and work. Plenty of images and video clips. http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/macneice.htm Grave in Northern Ireland. http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId= 1559 Archive recording of the author reading the text.

3 4

That concludes this presentation on:

Prayer Before Birth

for IGCSE English: Anthology Section C: Exam Comparative Poetry

An introduction to this text and to the examination comparison task

Mr Elkin-Jones, Cokethorpe School, September 2011 imej@cokethorpe.org