PUSHPALATA VIDYA MANDIR

CLASS XI - ENGLISH – HB 6. CHILDHOOD – POEM - NOTES

I. Answer the following questions:

1. Identify the stanza that talks about each of the following:
Individuality rationalism hypocrisy
Stanza I - deals with rationalism
Stanza II - deals with hypocrisy
Stanza III - deals with individuality

2. What according to the poet is involved in the process of growing up?

According to the poet, the process of growing up primarily means loss of
innocence and simplicity. It means losing trust in people, noticing their faults
and becoming more individualistic. It essentially means loss of sincerity,
faith, trust and acceptance.

3. What are the poet’s feelings towards childhood?

The poet feels that childhood is a period of innocence when one accepts people
at face value and trusts them. It is that time of life when one trusts others
without dwelling on the insincerity in the world. It is a phase of acceptance
and humility.

4. Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?

The last stanza of the poem is most poetic as it summarises the poem with
sensitivity and seeks solace in the fact that the virtues related with childhood
are not dead and gone. However, they are just found in children who the poet
still considers virtuous.

5. What did the speaker learn about the existence of Heaven and Hell?
As the speaker grew to be mature, he acquired reasoning power. He realised
that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography books or Atlas. Since
they could not be located anywhere in the world map, he concluded that they
did not exist. He would believe only what he could see and find.

6. How did the speaker realise the hypocrisy of the adults?

The speaker noticed a wide gulf between what adults appeared to be and
what they actually were in real life. There was apparent contradiction
between their words and deeds. They talked of love and advised others to
love, but they never acted lovingly.

7. How did the realisation of being the master of his own mind helped him?
The realisation that he was the master of his own mind, and could use it in
any way he liked, filled him with self-confidence. He could now think
independently and need not repeat parrot like thoughts of others.

8. “Childhood is an essential state in the process of growing up, but it can’t go on

forever.” Discuss.
Childhood is an important stage in the process of growing up of every person.
The human infant is totally dependent on others, but during childhood he
gains physical, emotional and mental strength. As the tiny baby grows bigger
in size, other faculties also develop. This stage is an important landmark in
man’s growth, but it can’t go on forever.

Childhood being a stage, must give way to another stage. It is followed by

adolescence or early youth. Now all the faculties are fully developed. The
person acquires reasoning power. His rationalism helps him to decide truth or
falsehood, fact and fiction. He acquires a fine capability of analysis and
discrimination. Now he can see through persons and things. He begins to
understand the hypocrisy of adults. He gains confidence and becomes an
independent thinker.

9. What is the central theme of the poem ‘Childhood’?

The poem ‘Childhood’ centres around the loss of a beautiful childhood and the
feeling of innocence that is associated with it. The poet ponders over multiple
causes for this loss but concludes that this lost childhood cannot be retrieved.

10. Why does the poet compare the loss of childhood to the loss of innocence?
Innocence is a state of unawareness. And not knowing the negative things in
life can make our lives really easy to deal with as we will be only drawn
towards the positive aspects of life. In the same way, childhood represents a
state of boundless energy and the manifestation of endless possibilities in our
minds. Once we grow into adults, we start using logic and rationale in our
thoughts, and that makes our attempts to attain a childlike state impossible.

11. What is the conclusion of the poem ‘Childhood’?

The poet concludes that childhood, once lost, cannot be retrieved. He accepts
this loss as permanent and acknowledges that it can be found only in an
infant’s face.

12. What is the poet trying to convey when he says that childhood is hidden in an
infant's face?
The poet says an infant is really innocent as he trusts everyone and does not
try to fool others. The poet brings out this fact by contrasting it with the
behaviour of adults, who become manipulative and are hypocrites. As a
person develops rational thoughts, his childlike innocence fades away.

13. According to Markus Natten, when does the child become an adult?
Becoming an adult is a complex process which is associated with physical,
mental and social development. A child becomes an adult when he is able to
live his own life and take care of his responsibilities individually. He also
develops his own thought process, using which he can form his own
beliefs and opinions.

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CHECKED & APPROVED BY

MS. BLISS BERNARD