NCERT Solution of Class 11 English Ch-4 Child
By Marcus Natten
Summary of Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
In the poem, the poet wonders when he lost his childhood and the innocence he had. He became conscious that he no longer sees the world as he did earlier and he can sense the hypocrisy in people. He recalled many instances in his life when he could have lost his childhood. He wondered if it was the day he ceased to be eleven or he realized that Hell and Heaven didn’t exist in this world and no one could find them in the geography. Next, he talks about the possibility when he realized that adults are not what they seemed to be and they are hypocrites. They talk and preach of love but their actions don’t say so. Was it the day when he realized that his mind was his own and capable of producing his own thoughts? No one could own that and he is an individual with his particular personality. In the last stanza, he talks about the whereabouts of his childhood. He concludes that it had gone to some forgotten place and it can only be found in the innocent face of an infant.
Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
Question-Answers of Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
Question 1:
Identify the stanza that talks of each of the following.
individuality rationalism hypocrisy
Answer
- individuality: Third stanza
- rationalism: First stanza
- hypocrisy: Second stanza
Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
Question 2:
What according to the poem is involved in the process of growing up?
Answer
According to the poem, the process of growing up involves the attainment of mental maturity. A person is said to be grown up when he has become logical, rational and is able to build his own thoughts. A grown-up has the power to distinguish between reality and fantasy.
Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
Question 3:
What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood?
Answer
The poet does not appear to feel sad or upset at the loss of his childhood. He only seems to be puzzled at the disappearance of childhood and the arrival of adulthood. He expresses his confusion when he asks the questions ‘When and Where did my childhood go’?
Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
Question 4:
Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Answer
The lines that seem to be the most poetic are: ‘It went to some forgotten place, That’s hidden in an infant’s face; That’s all I know. These lines sum up beautifully the process of growth and the disappearance of a particular stage of life.
Class 11 English Ch-4 Childhood
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