CHILDHOOD - BLOG 2

CHILDHOOD

Today in this period we are going to learn the remaining stanzas of the poem “Childhood”. Before we go deep into the poem let us revise the learning objectives.

Learning objectives

The students will be able to

Ø  understand, enjoy and appreciate different genre of English writings 

Ø   Know about the poet and his contributions

Ø  Enhance vocabulary

Ø   Have better understanding of rhyme scheme and other poetic devices

Ø   Know that Childhood is a bliss

Ø   Think when and where has the childhood gone

Ø  know how childhood is innocence while maturity leads to individuality, rationalism and gaining understanding of hypocrisy

Poem and explanation

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!
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 or he sensed his own individuality and a separate personality. Was that the day he lost his childhood?
Where did my childhood go?
It went to some forgotten place,
That’s hidden in an infant’s face,
That’s all I know.
Infant – newborn baby

In the last stanza, the poet expresses his grief 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.

Now let us discuss the literary devices used in the poem. You have to copy them to your English note book.

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 the geography.
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,
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!
Antithesis – where two opposite words are used together in a sentence in a poem
Hell and Heaven
Alliteration – The occurrence of the same letter of 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

HAPPY LEARNING