ABOUT ROALD DAHL:

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet,
screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot.[1] His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.

Dahl was born in Wales to Norwegian immigrant parents. He served in the Royal Air Force during the
Second World War. He became a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank
of acting wing commander. He rose to prominence as a writer in the 1940s with works for children and
for adults, and he became one of the world's best-selling authors.[3][4] He has been referred to as "one
of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".[5] His awards for contribution to literature
include the 1983 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the British Book Awards' Children's
Author of the Year in 1990. In 2008, The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 Greatest British
Writers Since 1945".

Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their
unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child
characters.[7][8] His children's books champion the kindhearted and feature an underlying warm
sentiment.[9][10] His works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, and George's Marvellous Medicine.
His adult works include Tales of the Unexpected.

THEME :DEATH OF IMAGINATION

Roald Dahl's poem "Television" presents an honest picture of what he feels the TV is, and its effect on
children.

1. The television as an idiot box- The poet feels that the TV has nothing good to offer to the children.
Instead, it only has 'shocking ghastly junk' content. This is the kind of content that makes children sit in
one place amd watch it, with their eyes popping out, but it does not benefit them in any way. Instead,
'IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!', thus interfering with their mental development. It also kills the
imagination.

2. Watching TV leaves a child hypnotised. As a result, he loses his powers of thinking and as the poet
says, 'IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!'. Children only stare at the screen. Their minds are not activated.
Instead, 'HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!'. This suggests that children lose their imagination and
creativity and become dull and unresponsive, almost like non-living things. They cannot even understand
fairytales and creative stories.

3. Importance of reading books- Dahl suggests a way to keep the children safe from the effects of the TV.
He advocates encouraging the little ones to read books. The tales of pirates and animals will light up the
mind with imagination. He reminds parents that before the TV invaded our lives, children grew with
books. Even now, children will be able to enjoy books and despite the initial hiccups, screaming and
revolting, they will 'love you more for what you did.'
The poem being an anti-TV poem, each of these themes offer a viewpoint against watching TV. The
poet's aim is to save children's imaginative skills and help them lead fuller lives

POETIC DEVICES :

1) HYPERBOLE
It is a device that uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect . For example

LAt week in someone's place we saw

A dozen of eyeballs on the floor

2) TYPOGRAPHY

personal opinion:

It will not be wrong to say that the television was one of the biggest inventions of the twentieth century
and has actually brought a big revolution in mass communication. Television can make you sit in front of
it consecutively for hours that we are better off calling it an idiot’s box rather than an idiot box.
Sometimes you are so engrossed in your favourite serial that you tend to forget what is happening
around you or if someone is calling you or not, whether the phone is ringing, which means you are
completely cut off from your surroundings. A lot of women are generally seen gossiping about the serial
and so its impact is beyond watching it. Many people’s lives revolve around TV programs completely,
which goes onto influence decisions like when to cook dinner, when to serve, taking a break during ad
breaks and so on. If your life is like this then it is a time to change, as it may affect the development of
brain. This is true to a great extent especially in the case of children, even if they are not directly viewing
TV, but acting as a passive viewers.

Watching television for a limited time with family is not bad, but too much of it can affect our critical
thinking and change our personality. Spending time with TV also means that you have less time for
interacting with your friends and family members.

Further with 3D television, the depth perception in children is greatly affected. It has been
recommended that children under three should not watch television at all. If elder children are exposed
to TV for more than two hours then their health will deteriorate. The kid may also start showing
aggressive behavior and his or her performance at school will deteriorate. In a study conducted by
Herbert Krugman in 1969, it has been found out that left hemisphere of our brain is responsible for
processing information logically and analytically, but by watching television it goes out of tune.

In order to have a peace of mind and to avoid all this, it is very important to relax your brain, which can
only be done in the absence of any kind of noise. Sit with your kid and family and make sure to turn off
the idiot box. Have a casual conversation on different topics or what has happened in the entire day. Do
not waste time by sitting in front of the TV as time once lost cannot be got back and you will then either
blame yourself or your idiot box.