Hornbill - 11th, Poem - 6, Childhood - MARKUS NATTEN The Poem, G lossary, Summary, Questions, And Answers, The Poem - When did my childh...
Hornbill - 11th, Poem - 6,
Childhood - MARKUS NATTEN
The Poem, Glossary, Summary, Questions, And Answers,
The Poem -
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!
When did my childhood go?
Was it the time I realized 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's hidden in an infant's face,
That's all I know.
Glossary -
1. ceased - to stop or end.
2. preached - to give a talk on a religious subject, to say that something is good, and persuade other people to accept it.
3. seemed - to give the impression of being or doing something; to appear.
4. hidden - to cover something so it can not be seen.
5. Infant - a baby or very young child.
Summary - The poem, "Childhood" is written by the poet, where he expresses his opinion about the time of age when exactly a child loses his childhood in a questionnaire manner. Rather the poem is in a satirical manner asking about the social factors or the people surrounded by a child and blaming them to be responsible for taking away the innocence of childhood. Even though the language and the words are very simple but the narrative approach of the poem is very straightforward and heart-touching.
In the first stanza, the poet asks about different possible alternatives, when exactly he lost his childhood, whether it was the age of eleven, or it was the time when he realized the difference between Hell and Heaven, and these are the places that could not be found in the book of Geography, meaning are unreal places, in the second stanza, he blames the dual nature of the adult people, whatever they speak, do not act accordingly, maybe it was the time when he understood their nature, or it may be the time when he started making decisions of his own and not dependent on others. Finally, he admits that it has to be some forgotten place, hidden in an infant's face.
Think it out -
1. Identify the stanzas that talk about each of the following.
a) Individuality - Third Stanza
Because in this stanza, the poet thinks about himself that when that time will come when he will be able to make his own decisions in his life, and no more dependent on others, and maybe that will be the time to lose his childhood, here "I" stands for individuality.
b) Rationalism - First Stanza
As rationalism relates to logical and analytical skills, the poet talked about it in this stanza because he is trying to find out the existence of Hell and Heaven.
c) Hypocrisy - Second Stanza
It is a sort of dual behavior or character one is trying to show but actually in practice it does not exist, and in the stanza, the poet speaks about the dual nature of the adults as they speak about love but do not act accordingly, so it is a kind of hypocrisy.
2. What according to the poem is involved in the process of growing up?
Ans - The poet feels a little bit confused about losing his childhood and entering adolescence, and in the process, many factors are involved, because childhood is full of innocence, without any logical thinking and pure simplicity, and the world appears to him as simple and innocent as he is, and when the things get differ, he gets confused. Therefore he considers different options responsible for stealing the innocence of his childhood.
3. What is the poet's feeling towards childhood?
Ans - In the poem, the poet is trying to find out the exact period of time, when he lost his childhood, but he is not able to do so, therefore he considers different options like whether it was the time at the age of eleven, or when he realized the understanding of Hell and Heaven or was it the time when he was able to find out the hypocrisy of adults or whether it was the when he became able to make his own decisions of life, and finally he admits that it went to some forgotten place, but in the poem, the poet seems to be unhappy and confused about losing his childhood.
4. Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Ans - The most poetic lines of the poem are in the last stanza of the poem and they are, "It went to some forgotten place, that's hidden in an infant's face; that's all I know".
Because, after considering many options about losing childhood, he finally concludes that it must be hidden in the smile on an infant's face, and the that is only possible place where childhood lies. So, I consider these lines to be the poem's most poetic lines.
My Perspective: We all miss our childhood because of its simplicity, carefreeness, and the most important aspect of it is radial innocence which is almost impossible to have for the rest of your life. Childhood is always supposed to be the most rewarding period of life, a child gets everything that he wants without any special efforts, and he feels too much joy and happiness in a very small thing, he becomes happy with a simple ball, toy, or it may be anything. The child has got all the ability to convert anything into a toy or a playful commodity, he can laugh or enjoy anything like clapping, dancing, or singing without any thematic manner, or can joyfully chase mom, dad, elder brother, sister, or a pet, that is the reason we can spend hours together with a child, and we are not aware of it, simply because we became part of that innocence which is an absolutely a divine wisdom.
If we closely observe a child while playing, we can learn so many qualities like true innocence, joy, simplicity, and feeling of oneness that show that we all are one, always speaking the truth, great concentration in every small thing, giving great importance to every small thing, sharing the things without any bias, carefree nature, very kind attitude to the living creatures like birds, pets, and the list is endless. But as the child grows up, slowly he lacks all the qualities one by one, So the very common question may be asked as the poet asked in the poem, When exactly do we lose our childhood? the poet has his own concept and reasons for it, but it may be different for different individuals. One wisely said that whenever a child does not get a toffee without giving money to the shopkeeper, he loses his childhood, because, till that time, he simply knows that everything on this earth is free.
So, we can have many reasons, but one thing is for sure, we really miss our childhood, and we pray to the almighty God, once in a while, to make me a child, so that I can spread all the innocence, joy, and happiness in the world that is missing.
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