Prayer Before Birth Poem Analysis

Many of the poems in the IGCSE Literature Anthology are expressions of despair. How do the writers use their craft to explore these ideas in three major and three minor poems selected from the Anthology.

This essay will mainly analyse the following three poems: “Prayer Before Birth”, “Telephone Conversation” and “War Photographer”. In addition, these three minor poems will be mentioned and discussed: “Once Upon A Time”, “Half Past Two”, and “Hide and Seek”. This essay will compare how the six poets have expressed their despair or loss of hope towards society.

“Prayer Before Birth” is a dramatic monologue written by Louis MacNeice from a fetus’ perspective. As it was written during World War II, the poem creates a horrifying image of the

This idea is expressed when the “solutions slop in trays beneath his hands, which did not tremble them though seem to now,” as it implies that in order to function and do his job properly in the field, the photographer must be able to distance himself from the subjects of his photographs. However, he is able to let his guard down in the privacy of the darkroom. The phrase “solutions slop in trays” is a homophone, referring both directly to the onomatopoeic sound of the chemicals he is using to develop the films but also hope the photographs can be a ‘solution’ of the conflicts they depict.

The photographer expresses despair when he considers the contrast between ‘Rural England’ and the war zones, noticing how ‘ordinary’ problems can be dispelled by ‘simple weather’. He also notes how children don’t have to be fearful of landmines when they are playing. It is saddening to think that people not affected by war are so ignorant of those that are. In addition, the imagery “of running children in a nightmare heat” evokes a shocking picture, emphasizing how indifferent people can be when these images fail to resonate with