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Childhood Summary,
Explanation, Word
meanings Class 11
By Vaishnavi Tyagi

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CBSE Class 11 English

Poem 4 Childhood
Summary, Line by Line
Explanation along with
Di!cult Word Meanings
and Literary Devices
from Hornbill Book

Childhood – Here is the Class 11 English

Hornbill Book Poem 4 Childhood
Summary and Detailed explanation of the
Lesson along with meanings of di"cult
words. Also, the explanation is followed by
the literary devices used in the Poem.

Class 11 English (Hornbill

Book) Poem 4 Childhood
By Markus Natten

Childhood Introduction
Childhood Video Explanation
Childhood Summary
Childhood Summary in Hindi
Childhood Lesson Explanation
Childhood Literary Devices

Related:

Childhood MCQs
Childhood Question Answers

Childhood Introduction
Childhood is written by Marcus Natten. In this
poem, the poet thinks over his lost childhood.
He wonders about the moment where he lost
his innocence and realized that the world is
not what he seemed it to be. He recalls when
his thoughts changed and he realized the
hypocrisy of the people around him. He
finally settled down to the idea that his
childhood went to some forgotten place and
is hidden in the face of an innocent infant.

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Childhood Class 11 Video

Explanation

Childhood Class 11 …

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Childhood Summary
Childhood Summary – In the poem, the poet
wonders when he lost his childhood and the
innocence he had. He became conscious that
he no longer sees the world as he did earlier
and he can sense the hypocrisy in people. He
recalled many instances in his life when he
could have lost his childhood. He wondered if
it was the day he ceased to be eleven or he
realized that Hell and Heaven didn’t exist in
this world and no one could find them in the
geography. Next, he talks about the
possibility when he realized that adults are
not what they seemed to be and they are
hypocrites. They talk and preach of love but
their actions don’t say so. Was it the day when
he realized that his mind was his own and
capable of producing his own thoughts? No
one could own that and he is an individual
with his particular personality. In the last
stanza, he talks about the whereabouts of his
childhood. He concludes that it had gone to
some forgotten place and it can only be
found in the innocent face of an infant.

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Childhood Summary in Hindi

किवता में किव को आश्चयर् होता है िक कब उसने अपना
बचपन और अपनी मासूिमयत खो दी। उसे होश आया िक अब
वह दुिनया को पहले की तरह नहीं देखता और लोगों में पाखंड
को महसूस कर सकता है। उन्होंने अपने जीवन में ऐसे कई
उदाहरण याद िकए जब उनका बचपन खो गया होगा।
उसने सोचा िक क्या यह वह िदन था जब वह ग्यारह वषर् का हो
गया या उसने महसूस िकया िक इस दुिनया में नकर् और स्वगर्
मौजूद नहीं थे और कोई भी उन्हें भूगोल में नहीं ढू ंढ सकता था।
इसके बाद, वह संभावना के बारे में बात करता है जब उसने
महसूस िकया िक वयस्क वह नहीं हैं जो वे िदखते थे और वे
पाखंडी हैं। वे प्रेम की बातें करते हैं और उपदेश देते हैं लेिकन
उनके कायर् ऐसा नहीं कहते। क्या यह वह िदन था जब उसने
महसूस िकया िक उसका मन उसका अपना है और अपने
िवचारों को उत्पन्न करने में सक्षम है? कोई भी उसका मािलक
नहीं हो सकता था और वह अपने िवशेष व्यिक्तत्व के साथ एक
व्यिक्त है। अंितम छं द में, वह अपने बचपन के िठकाने के बारे
में बात करता है। उन्होंने िनष्कषर् िनकाला िक यह िकसी भूली
हुई जगह पर चला गया था और यह केवल एक िशशु के मासूम
चेहरे में पाया जा सकता है।

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Childhood Poem Explanation

Poem Stanza 1

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!

Word Meaning
Ceased – come to an end

Explanation of the Poem: In the above lines,

the poet wonders about when his childhood
came to an end. He asked himself was it the day
he was no longer eleven years old? Was it the
day when he realized that Hell and Heaven
existed and yet could not be found in geography
or on the map. He realized they are imaginary
places that actually do not exist in this world.

Poem Stanza 2

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!

Word Meaning
Preached – talked or spoken

Explanation of the Poem: In the above stanza,

the poet again repeats the same question about
when did his childhood go? He wonders about
the day when he started seeing the world with a
new perception that adults are hypocrites and
are not how they seemed to be. The adults who
talked of love and preached of love and yet
never behaved so lovingly. They are double-
faced in reality. Was that the day when his
childhood go?

Poem Stanza 3

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!

Explanation of the Poem: In the third

stanza, the poet deliberates on the same
question about when he lost his childhood.
He asked himself about possibilities. He
wonders about the day he realized that his
mind was his own and could use it the way
he wants. When he realized that he could
produce his own thoughts which were not
bound by anyone. When he sensed his own
individuality and a separate personality. Was
that the day he lost his childhood?

Poem Stanza 4

Where did my childhood go?

It went to some forgotten place,
That’s hidden in an infant’s face,
That’s all I know.

Word Meaning
Infant – newborn baby

Explanation of the Poem: In the last stanza,

the poet remorses about his lost childhood. He
concludes that his childhood had gone to some
forgotten place which will never come back. He
cherished his innocence which vanished now
and could be only seen in a baby’s face. He only
has sweet memories of his childhood which
would soon fade away. He also conveyed a
message that the innocence of childhood stays
till the time one is an infant and that is all he
knows.

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Childhood Literary Devices

Rationalism – the poet rationalizes the lost
childhood when he was eleven and when he
found out that hell and heaven don’t exist
and are not found in geography.

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,

Rhyme Scheme – the rhyme scheme used in

the poem ‘Childhood’ is ABBCCD.
Refrain – a group of phrase which is repeated
in the poem

When did my childhood go?

Was that the day!

Individuality – In stanza 3, the poet realized

that he can use his own mind and can
produce his own thoughts. He discovered a
sense of individuality in himself.
Antithesis – where two opposite words are
used together in a sentence in a poem

Hell and Heaven

Alliteration – The occurrence of the same

letter or sound at the beginning of closely
connected words

The time
My mind
Whichever way
Thoughts that

Inversion – when the subject-verb order is

reversed

To use whichever way I choose

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Class 11 English Hornbill Book

Poem Explanation

Poem 2
Poem 1 A The
Photograph Laburnum
Top

Poem 3 The
Poem 4
Voice of the
Childhood
Rain

Poem 5
Father to
Son

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