Class 11 summary of childhood poem
Answers
Summary of Poem ‘Childhood’ by Markus Natten
The poet is sad over the loss of his childhood and wants to know when he lost it. He asks himself whether he lost it on the day he could not find heaven and hell in his Geography book, as told to him by the elders.
He asks himself whether he lost it on the day he could not find heaven and hell in his Geography book, as told to him by the elders.
Since he is not certain when he lost his childhood, he wants to know if he lost it on the day he came to know about the hypocrisy of the adults. He felt that they did not do what they preached. They preached so much about love, but loved little.
The poet asks himself if he lost his childhood on the day he realized he could use his mind in whatever manner he chose.
He realized he could think his own thoughts independently without being influenced by the thoughts of other people.
The poet not only wants to know when he lost his childhood, he also wants to know where his innocence has gone. He feels he has left it somewhere in the past. May be it has gone to the infant that he used to be. But he is sure he no longer possesses the joys, carelessness and innocence of his childhood.
Answer:
In the poem ‘Childhood’, Markus Natten depicts the reality of childhood innocence gradually transforming into adult rationality, hypocrisy and individuality. The poem begins with the poet wondering when did his childhood go – was it the day he ceased to be eleven; was it the day when he could distinguish between fantasy and reality by realizing that heaven and hell don’t exist since they are not found in geography books; was it the day when he could understand the hypocrisy of adults by realizing that people were not all that they pretended to be; or was it the day when he became conscious of his own growing individuality by realising that he had a mind of his own and that he was capable of producing thoughts and opinions that were different from other people.
In the final lines, the poet concludes the speculations in his mind regarding his lost childhood. He now tries to understand where his childhood has gone. Though he is not aware of the day he lost his childhood, he knows that it has gone to some forgotten place, that is, on the face of an infant. The poet believes that though his childhood has become a memory for him, it has become a reality for some other child. Childhood is a cyclic process, where it leaves one person and goes to another.