CHILDHOOD
By Markus Natten
About the Author
Markus Natten is a poet from Norway.
Details of his life are very sketchy so it is unclear when and where he was
born.
Poem – Childhood
When did my childhood go?
Was it the day I ceased to be eleven.
Was it the time I realised that Hell and
Heaven,
Could not be found in Geography,
And therefore could not be,
Was that the day!
When
did my childhood go?
Was it the time I realised that adults
were not
All they seemed to be,
They talked of love and preached of
love,
But did not act so lovingly,
Was that the day!
When did my childhood go?
Was it when I found my mind was really
mine,
To use whichever way I choose,
Producing thoughts that were not those
of other people
But my own and mine alone
Was that the day!
Where did my childhood go?
It went to some forgotten place,
That is hidden in an infant’s face,
That’s all I know.
Introduction
In the poem Childhood, the poet ponders deeply over the question of his
lost childhood. He recalls a number of stages when his thoughts and perceptions
about the world and people changed. He tries to identify that one particular
stage or time when he lost his childhood and stepped into adulthood. He feels a
sense of nostalgia for the lost childhood and finally settles down with an idea
that his childhood has gone to some forgotten place and that place could only
be found in an infant’s innocent face.
Summary
The speaker pondered deeply upon the
spiritual questions of life and ultimately realized the fact that his childhood
days were finally gone down into the past of eternity for good and would never
return. Childhood would now only remain in his memories. He wandered if the end
of childhood was the day he ceased to be eleven years old. The time when he
realized that heaven and hell are
not real places because they could not be located in geography and never could be.
Where did his
childhood go? Was it the time he realized that adults were not all they seemed
to be? They talked of love and they preached of love, but did not act so
lovingly nor practiced what they preached. Was that the day. Where did his
childhood go? Was it when he found out that his mind was really his? To use it
whichever way he chose? To produce thoughts that was not those of other people
but his and his alone. Was that the day? Where did his childhood go? It went to
some forgotten place that is hidden in a baby’s face. That was all that he knew
and that was all that he remembered.
In the poem
'Childhood', the poet is trying to realise the age when he lost his childhood,
when he became mature enough to understand the worldly things. So he keeps
saying, "When did my childhood go?" He finally realises that his
childhood is gone to "some forgotten place", "that is hidden in
an infant's face."
Detailed Explanation
Stanza 1
Childhood has
for centuries been considered by poets as a blissful period of one’s life.
In this poem, the poet exhibits his curiosity to know, when an individual
ceases to be a child. The process of growing up from a child to an
adolescent and an adult is an inevitable one. There is no line of demarcation
between the various stages of life. The poet begins the poem by putting forth
this question to himself. He wonders when did his childhood leave him and
where could it be found now? He wonders if it was the day he ceased to be
eleven, or was it the time he realized that Heaven and Hell could not be
located on the maps he was familiar with. As he matures he realizes that
they do not exist in this world. They are only imaginary places.
Stanza 2
In the second
stanza, the poet reiterates the same question and wonders if it is the day when
a child develops a new perception with which he is able to see through the
hypocrisy of the adults. They talk of love and preached of love but in
actuality they are double faced. Was that the day?
Stanza 3
In the third
stanza, the poet pondering over the same question wonders if it was the day
when his personality acquired certain individuality. When he realized that his
mind was his own and he was capable of producing thoughts that were his own,
devoid of any form of bias or influence. Now he is conscious of his own
separate identity and feels himself different from others.
Stanza 4
The poet
concludes the poem by expressing his regret at the loss of his childhood
which was a beautiful period of his life. He comes to the conclusion that
it has gone to some forgotten place. The recollection of it has faded
away with the passage of time. Perhaps it has gone to the innocent face of
a child. Here the poet creates a lovely image of an infant’s face. He
conveys the idea that innocence of the childhood remains only as long as one is
infant. There is a tinge of optimism in this thought. At least innocence and
purity of mind prevails in some form or the other on this earth.
Important Exracts
1. Read the extract given below and
answer the questions that follow:
When
did my childhood go?
Was
it the day I ceased to be eleven.
Was
it the time I realised that Hell and Heaven,
Could
not be found in Geography,
And
therefore could not be,
Was
that the day!
Q1.
When does poet realise that his childhood has gone?
Ans. Poet realises at the age of eleven.
Q2.
Why is the age of eleven so important for the poet?
Ans.
Because at the age of eleven, he
can differentiate between fact and fiction.
Q3.
What is the quality acquired by the poet at this stage of his life?
Ans. The poet has become rational at this stage.
Q4.
When
did the poet know that ‘hell’ and ‘heaven’ are imaginary concepts?
Ans. When
he could not locate these places in geography books.
Q5.
Why is the poet worried?
Ans. The poet is worried because he has
lost his purity of thoughts and innocence.
Q6.
Where has the poet’s childhood gone?
Ans. His
childhood has gone to some forgotten place.
Q7.
What is a child’s perception of an adult?
Ans.
As the childhood goes, the child
can differentiate between fact and fiction.
2. Read the extract given below and
answer the questions that follow:
When
did my childhood go?
Was
it the time I realised that adults were not
All
they seemed to be,
They
talked of love and preached of love,
But
did not act so lovingly,
Was
that the day!
Q1.
Why does the poet not talk great of grown up people?
Ans.
Poet feels that grown up people do
not act on what they preach.
Q2.
Why
is the poet confused?
Ans.
Poet cannot understand whether he
is a child or an adult.
Q3.
How
does the poet find the people in this world?
Ans.
Poet finds the people as
hypocrites.
Q4.
Choose
word from the passage which means ‘sermonized’.
Ans.
Preached
3. Read the extract given below and
answer the questions that follow:
When
did my childhood go?
Was
it when I found my mind was really mine,
To
use whichever way I choose,
Producing
thoughts that were not those of other people
But
my own and mine alone
Was
that the day!
Q1.
Explain 'My mind was really mine’?
Ans.
It means that poet was completely
in control of himself.
Q2.
'Producing thoughts that were not these of other people’s means:
Ans. The poet has gained
confidence to express his views independently.
Q3.
Which
stage of life has been under consideration above?
Ans.
Poet is passing through adulthood.
Q4.
What
thoughts of the poet are revealed in these lines?
Ans.
His individuality is expressed
here.
4. Read the extract given below and
answer the questions that follow:
Where
did my childhood go?
It
went to some forgotten place,
That
is hidden in an infant’s face,
That’s
all I know.
Q1.
Why is the poet eager to know the lost place of his childhood?
Ans.
(i) The poet cherishes childhood
the most.
(ii) The poet once again wishes to lead the
innocent life of a child.
(iii) The poet is eager to know where
his childhood is hidden.
Q2.
Where
is poet able to find his lost childhood?
Ans.
In the innocent face of the
infant.
Q3.
Choose
a word from the passage which is synonymous to ‘concealed.
Ans.
Hidden
Q4.
What
is the rhyming scheme of the above lines?
Ans.
a b b a.
Short Answer Type Questions
Q1. How does the poem expose man and
presents him in true colours?
Ans. Childhood symbolizes innocence,
purity, softness and love. As a child grows, these qualities start receding.
Man becomes impure, cunning, shrewd and hypocrite. Grown-ups become blatant liars.
They talk of love but practice hatred. They preach brotherhood of mankind but
perpetuate hatred and killing. Simplicity and honesty evaporate into thin air,
the moment man crosses the threshold of innocent childhood.
Q2. What is the poet’s feeling towards
the childhood?
Ans. The poet regards childhood as a period
of heavenly innocence. A child sincerely feels that there is god above. He is
free from all earthly evils. He believes that there is really a Heaven and a
Hell. He is truly religious in his soul. A child knows no hypocrisy. He always
means what he says. There is no difference between his thoughts and actions. A
child is free from any sense of ego. He does not think himself to be different
from or superior to others. In short, childhood is a state of heavenly
innocence and purity of heart.
Q3. What according to the poem, is
involved in the process of growing up?
Ans. As a person grows up, he becomes a
rationalist, an egoist and a hypocrite. He accepts nothing that is not logical.
He loses faith in God. He does not believe in Hell or Heaven. He becomes very
conscious of his self. He wants to follow his own desires and ideas. He becomes
an egoist. He talks of love and preaches of love, but is not so loving in his
actions. In short, he loses all his innocence of his childhood.
Q4. How does the poet describe the
process of being grown up?
Ans. The process of being grown up
develops the critical thinking and analytical point of view in the person. It
makes the person rationalized and abled to take his decision by virtue of his
seat of reasoning.
Q5. How does the poet repent on his loss
of childhood?
Ans. He expresses concern over his
childhood’s disappearance. Childhood cannot be regained. It keeps our life
aloof from the world of hypocrisy, bitter reality and materialism.
Q6. The poet has asked two questions one
is about the time and other is about the place. Why has he used these
questions?
Ans. He has used these two questions to
interpret the time and place of way of going his childhood away. “When” points
out the process of being rational at a particular time and “where” states the
place where the innocent world of childhood resides.
Q7. What does the Hell and heaven stand
for?
Ans. It stands for the world of
imagination that fascinates only small children. These are nothing but the
product of our imaginative mind that helps the person to escape from reality.
Q8. What contrast did he find in adult’s
behaviour?
They talked of human values but did not
practise in their day to day life.