Childhood Class 11 Questions and Answers, English
Childhood
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. Identify the stanza that talks of each of the following.
individuality, rationalism, hypocrisy
Ans. individuality : stanza 3, where he talks about his own mind, individual thoughts and decisive power of his own.
rationalism : stanza 1, where he discusses the ability to distinguish fact from fantasy.
hypocrisy : stanza 2, in which he talks about the duality of the adult world, where people do not practise what they preach.
2. What, according to the poem, is involved in the process of growing up?
Ans: According to the poem, growing up means becoming mature and able to think logically and make your own decisions. It involves gaining the ability to think independently and distinguish between reality and fantasy. However, it also means losing the carefree nature of childhood.
3. What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood ?
Ans: The poet sees childhood as a special time full of imagination and trust. He reflects on when his own childhood ended, wondering if it was when he stopped being eleven and started seeing the world differently. He feels that growing up changes how we view things.
4. Which do you think are the most poetic lines ? Why?
Ans. The most poetic lines are the concluding lines of the poem. “It went to some forgotten place, That’s hidden in an infant’s face,…..” These lines sum up beautifully the process of growth and the disappearance of a particular stage of life. It takes us back to a forgotten phase in our life, pure, innocent and divine.
Childhood Class 11 Questions and Answers
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. What did the author think when he was eleven years old?
Ans:- When the author was eleven years old he thought that he was now an adult.
2. Is the poet nostalgic about his childhood?
Ans:- The poet is in a nostalgic mood. He is missing his childhood days and wonders when he lost his innocence.
3. Does the poet think that his mind belonged to him all the time?
Ans:- No, the poet thought that in childhood and till now, his mind did not belong to him.
4. What did the poet find out about his mind?
Ans: The poet discovered that as a child, he could think his own thoughts, not just follow what others said. He also realized that adults are often hypocritical—they talk about love but don’t always act lovingly.
5. Where has the poet’s childhood gone?
Ans: The poet feels his childhood is gone forever, lost in a forgotten place. He misses the innocent and pure quality of childhood, like that seen in a baby’s face.
