Commentary on Prayer Before Birth by Louise MacNeice

One of the hazards of life, according to the poet, are horrible people. The human race is the cause of all the child’s fears and of all humanity’s own problems. In the first stanza there is a reference to three types of these individual people, rather than the human race in general. The images of the animals are actually referring to people. The “bloodsucking bat” takes life out, like people who use, take advantage of you and drain you of your positive energy and everything you have. The “rat”, an animal that rings on plague, disease and infection, like evil cursed people who bring trouble, torment and disaster. The �

Another hazard which there is in life is if we take all the wonderful things that we do have for granted. The poet gives some examples of the nice thing that we can have in life and the majority of the time we take these particular things for granted. These examples are also most of the joys of childhood, which suggests that the child is afraid to grow up he wants to stay a child and flourish in the thrills of his freedom. ”Water” is simple and pure and a necessity to live on. So when the child wants “water to dandle” him, he wants a simple life and pure love and affection. The line “grass to grow for me” ha ‘g’ alliteration and reminds us of our fantasies of endless green fields and a clean free environment. This is a contrast to the “tall walls” in the second stanza. There is a ‘t’ alliteration in the line “tree to talk / to me”, this shows that the child would prefer to talk to the enlightened trees than listen to the luring “lies”. In the line “sky to sing to me, birds” there is an ‘s’ alliteration. This is about the endless free sky which surrounds the world and all the creatures that bask and sing for glee of it’s beauty. The “white light” has internal rhyme and is a symbol of purity, innocence and peace but the “light” represents the sun in the sky and its warmth. The “light” guides the child, gliding through the “sky” like “birds” to heaven. In a perfect world no one would take anything for granted and they would appreciate everything they have. In a perfect world we would be young and free forever.

�stoat”, a sly, sharp-toothed, quick-footed animal like a person who leads you into traps and deserts you when you need them most. In the second line the ‘b’ alliteration in “bloodsucking bat”, ‘t’ alliteration in the “bat or the rat or the stoat” and the “bat” and “rat” internal rhyme create a sort of spitting sound which fits the imagery of these animals perfectly. The line “club-footed ghoul” creates an image of an awful person that haunts and hassles you, with an eerie, low moan-like sound created by the assonance. What the unborn child sees as worth living for is to be surrounded by a community of helpful, unselfish people who hold happiness and pleasure in their hands hand. It is nicer to be encircled by people who try to please you, who catch you when you fall, rather than by people who make your lie miserable and trip you up.

An example that the poet gives of disdainful people and people not being treated as equals is in the fifth stanza. The child is asking to be rehearsed, one of the five references to theatre in this stanza, in what he should do in various situations of people looking down on him. The mentioning of theatre indicates that life is one big play. “Old” men’s lectures are usually boring but they must be heard. We must respect our elders and not discard them as is usually the tendency; most of the time our elders, even being older and wiser, do not look down upon the younger generation. The poet is saying that we must show an interest in their stories and learn from them. “Bureaucrats” always think themselves to be superior, more important and are haught

Some topics in this essay:
World War, , unborn child, worth living, perfect world, stanza poet, ‘l’ alliteration, alliteration line, internal rhyme, fifth stanza, people human race, line “tall walls, life people, “tall walls wall, walls wall me”, individual people, world worth living,