summary of poem childhood
Answers
Hello
Explanation:
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.
Answer:
The poet seems puzzled about the loss of childhood. It is natural in the process of growing up. Still, the poet tries to find an answer to his two queries: When did my childhood go?’ and Where did my childhood go?”
The first possibility of the time of departure of his childhood relates to the age when he had completed the age of eleven. It was then that he developed a power of understanding. Then he became aware that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography. Since they could not be located anywhere in world, he concluded that they did not exist. He thus reached a logical conclusion based on his reasoning power.
The second possibility relates to the time when he realized the hypocrisy of the adults. They were not all that they seemed to be. They talked of love and gave advice of love, but did not act so affectionately.
The third possibility relates to the time when he found that he was the master of his mind. He could use it whichever way he chose. He could now produce his own thoughts and need not repeat those of others. A sense of individuality dawned on him. He wonders whether he lost his childhood on one of these days.
In the final stanza, the poet dwells on the problem where his childhood has disappeared. On the basis of his limited knowledge he thinks that his childhood went to some forgotten place that was hidden in an infant’s face. The poet implies that adolescence follows childhood in the same way as childhood had replaced infancy. It is a stage in the process of growing up.
Explanation: