Q. When did my childhood go?
Was it the day I ceased to be eleven,
Was it the time I realized that Hell and Heaven,
Could not be found in Geography,
And therefore could not be
Was that the day! (2015/2019)
(i) What is the poet asking for? (1mark)
-> The poet was asking for the time when his childhood has gone as he is unable to trace his childhood.
(ii) What does ‘Hell and Heaven’ stand for? (1mark)
-> ‘Hell and Heaven’ are merely imaginary things- a matter of belief and they do not exist.
(iii) What phase of life does the stanza reveal? (1mark)
-> The stanza reveals the maturity phase of life when the poet entered adolescent period of his life.
(iv) How does the poet describe the process of being grown up? (2marks)
-> The process of growing up, according to the poet, is very complicated. A child loses the innocence and goodness of his childhood and turns into a rational, individualistic and hypocrite person. Beliefs of childhood disappear and he starts believing only his own thoughts, mind and brains. His faith in God weakens; he refuses to believe anything devoid of proof. He understands that hell and heaven do not exist at all. He says a thing and makes a difference in real life, he thinks only about himself and things like true love, care, truthfulness are no more as are found in the innocence of childhood.
Q. How does the poet describe the process of being grown up? (2marks) (2015/2016/2017)
-> The process of growing up, according to the poet, is very complicated. A child loses the innocence and goodness of his childhood and turns into a rational, individualistic and hypocrite person. Beliefs of childhood disappear and he starts believing only his own thoughts, mind and brains. His faith in God weakens; he refuses to believe anything devoid of proof. He understands that hell and heaven do not exist at all. He says a thing and makes a difference in real life, he thinks only about himself and things like true love, care, truthfulness are no more as are found in the innocence of childhood.
Q. What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood in the poem “Childhood”? (3marks) (2018)
Ans. According to the poet childhood is a very happy period of everyone’s life. Childhood is free from all complexities and evils of this material world. As one grows up, he loses all his simplicity and learns about worldly matters like heaven hell and adult world. A child is unable to think of his presence as different from others, he is never selfish and hostile to anyone. Therefore poet feels nostalgic about his childhood.
Q. Why does the poet say that his childhood “went to some forgotten place”? (3marks) (2019)
-> An infant’s memory span is very short which is erased immediately and the things are forgotten. Since the happy childhood is nowhere to be found back the poet tries to resolve that it must have gone to some forgotten place. Since all the memories of a child are hidden behind its face, the poet feels that his childhood too has resided in some forgotten place behind an infant’s face. Hence, the comparison is done.
