प्रश्न बैंक - सह - उत्तर पुस्तक (Question Bank-Cum-Answer Book)
Class 11 English Core
Hornbill POETRY
Chapter - 4. CHILDHOOD -Markus Natten
MAIN POINTS
☞
The poet seems to be obsessed with the question:'when did my childhood go ?'and
'where did my childhood go?"
☞
When he completed 11 years, he grew rational.He could think independently
without being influenced by anyone.
☞
He realised that hell and heaven are imaginary concepts and don't exist
anywhere but only in the mind.
☞
The poet says adulthood brings maturity as well as hypocrisy.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Who is the poet of the poem 'Childhood'?
a.
Shirley Toulson
b.
Walt Whitman
c. Marcus Natten
d.
V.S.Naipaul
2. What is the opposite of the word 'hidden'?
a. Open
b.
Closed
c.
Partial
d.
Imposed
3. What question does the poet ask to himself?
a.
"When did my childhood go?"
b.
"Where did my childhood go?"
c. Both A and B
d.
None of these
4. What is the poem 'Childhood' about?
a. Poet's lost childhood.
b.
Childhood of every person
c.
Childhood of poet's child
d.
Poet's father's childhood
5. What is the meaning of the word 'ceased'?
a.
Starting something
b. Come to an end
c.
In the middle
d.
To chase something
6. After what age did the poet realise that he had lost his
childhood?
a.
Twelve
b. Eleven
c.
Ten
d.
Thirteen
7. The face of an infant symbolises.
a.
Heavenly Joy
b.
Happiness
c. Innocence
d.
Ignorance
8. What could the poet not find in the geography book?
a. Hell and Heaven
b.
End of sky
c.
Island
d.
Country
9. What does the poet associate adulthood with
a.
individuality
b.
borrowed thoughts
c.
original thinking
d. mature thinking
10. Why are the adults not what they seem to be
a. They talk and preach of love but do not act so
b.
They are very shrewd
c.
They are selfish
d.
They are lazy
11. What did the poet find out about Hell and Heaven?
a. They could not be found in geography books
b.
They were imaginary places
c.
They were in America
d.
They were in India
12. Adults seem to act mostly out of?
a.
Love
b.
Affection
c.
Concern
d. Jealousy
13. What type of Rhyme Scheme is used in the poem 'Childhood'?
a.
ABABAB
b.
ABBABA
c.
ABABCB
d. ABBCCD
14. What did the poet conclude about his lost childhood at the
end of the poem?
a.
It went to another dimension
b. It went to some forgotten place
c.
It moved away with time
d.
It shifted to his younger sibling
15. Which poetic device has been used in the following line-
"Was it when I found my mind was really mine."?
a. Alliteration
b.
Simile
c.
Metaphor
d.
Personification
16. Where could he see his childhood now?
a. In an infant's face
b.
Only in his memories
c.
Nowhere
d.
In his fellow-beings
17. What is the difference between an adult and a child?
a. An adult can tell the difference between reality and fantasy
while the child cannot
b.
There is difference in sense of intelligence
c.
There is no difference
d.
None of the Above
18. Why do adults talk and preach of love but do not act
lovingly?
a. Because they are hypocrites
b.
Because they are double-faced
c.
Because they do not want to
d.
Because they invest in only those whom they find interesting
19. What did the poet find out about Hell and Heaven?
a.
They were in sky
b. They were an imaginary place
c.
They didn't exist
d.
They were with god
20. What is the most important thing about being an adult?
a. They have their own thoughts
b.
They can earn money
c.
They can talk to anyone they want
d.
They preach love
VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. Who is the poet of the poem Childhood?
Ans.
Markus Natten
2. Why does the poet mention the age of 11.
Ans.
11 is a critical age, before this one can be counted as a child.
3. As per the writer at what age a person lost his/ her
childhood?
Ans.
Age of Eleven
4. find the word which means 'ended' in the poem.
Ans.
Ceased
5. Where could hell and heaven not be found?
Ans.
In geography book
6. How are the adults?
Ans.
The adult people are not as good as they appear to be.
7. What did the adults talk and preach of ?
Ans.
They preached of Love but didn't act lovingly.
8. When could he have his own thoughts?
Ans.
When he crossed his childhood at the age of 11.
9. What can an adult do but a child cannot?
Ans.
An adult is able to produce his own thoughts but a child cannot.
10. Where is his childhood hidden?
Ans.
In the face of an infant
11. Where has his childhood gone?
Ans.
At some forgotten place.
12. About what day does the poet talk about?
Ans.
When he loses his childhood, when he becomes an adult.
13. Do the adults behave as they say or talk ?
Ans.
No
14. What does this mean, "my mind was really mine"?
Ans.
I could think independently without being influenced or directed by others.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. What question does the poet ask again and again in this poem?
Ans.
In this poem the poet is really confused. He asks the question again and again
'when did my childhood go?'
2. The poet has discussed two stages of life childhood and
adulthood. How do we differentiate one from another?
Ans.
Childhood has been considered by the poet as a blissful period in one's life,
where a child trusts everyone. Adulthood is marked by rational and creative
thoughts, ability to perceive and differentiate and learn new things. In this
stage of life one also learns to be double faced.
3. How did the poet conclude that Hell and Heaven were imaginary
places?
Ans.
The poet concluded that Hell and Heaven were imaginary places because Geography
books contain names of places, but there is no mention of places like Hell or
Heaven in these books.
4. How did adults seem to be for the poet when he was a child?
Ans.
As a child, the poet considered all the adults as an epitome of love and
sincerity. He believed that their love was true and they were ready to do
anything for their loved ones.
5. What did the poet remark about the importance of independent
thinking?
Ans.
The poet finds out that he was no more a child as he could think independently.
He could have his own opinions without getting influenced by anyone else. This
discovery was very important to him as it revealed to him his abilities for
independent thinking and decision taking.
6. How does the poem expose man and his dual face?
Ans.
According to the poet, childhood symbolises innocence, purity, softness and
love. As a child grows up, these qualities start receding. Man adheres to
lying, jealousy, hatred and hypocrisy.
7. What is the poet's feeling towards his childhood?
Ans.
The poet regards childhood as a period of innocence. A child sincerely feels
that he is free from all evils and that there is really a Hell and a Heaven. A
child knows no hypocrisy. There is no difference between his thoughts and
actions. In short, childhood is a state of innocence and purity of heart.
8. What is the poet trying to convey when he says that childhood
is hidden in an infant's face?
Ans.
The poet says an infant is really innocent as he trusts everyone and does not
try to fool others. The poet brings out this fact by contrasting it with the
behaviour of adults, who become manipulative and are hypocrites. As a person
develops rational thoughts, his childlike innocence fades away.
9. What did the speaker learn about the existence of Heaven and
Hell ?
Ans.
As the speaker grew to be mature, he acquired reasoning power. He realised that
Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography books or Atlas. Since they
could not be located anywhere in the world map, he concluded that they did not
exist and they are human constructs. He would believe only what he could see
and find.
LONG ANSWER ANSWERS
1. What according to the poem is involved in the process of
growing up?
Ans.
The poem talks about rationalism, hypocrisy and individuality. Throughout the
poem, the process of growing up is explained. First of all it begins with the
stage when one can differentiate between reality and imaginary things. The
second stage is reached when one can differentiate between what adults preach
and what they do, they can see through their hypocrisy and lastly independent
thinking is the sign of a mature man or adult. He is not influenced or directed
by others as he was in his childhood.
2. Why is the poet nostalgic about his childhood? Does he feel
the loss of his childhood as a great loss?
Ans.
The poet grows nostalgic about his childhood when he became 11. He felt that
his childhood is lost. Childhood means innocence and loss of it means, the loss
of innocence. The poet suffers from a sense of loss and speculates on how and
when he suffered that loss. At that stage he became mature and adult to have
his own thoughts without being influenced by anyone.
3. Why is the age of 11 so important for the poet?
Ans.
At the age of 11 the poet was able to differentiate between fact and fiction,
truth and imaginary realisation. The Hell and Heaven are merely imaginary
concepts of our mind. They don't exist in the world or in a geographical map.
At this age he attains maturity and steps towards rational thinking.
4. Has the poet got an answer to the question" where did my
childhood go"?
Ans. It seems that the poet has got his answer. He realises that his childhood is lying hidden in an infant's innocent face and has been deliberately forgotten. His lost childhood is lying hidden somewhere in the innocence which is present only in an infant's face.
JCERT/JAC प्रश्न बैंक - सह - उत्तर पुस्तक (Question Bank-Cum-Answer Book)
English Core (CONTENTS)
HORNBILL | |
CH. NO. | NAME OF CHAPTERS |
POETRY | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
PROSE | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
6. | |
SNAPSHOTS | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
6. | |
Writing Section | |
