Test: An Elementary School Classroom in a slum- 1 - Class 12 MCQ

'An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum'. This poem is written by Stephen Spender, one of the eminent poets who perfectly described their political, economical and social views through his creations.

We need to break the barriers that divide society into haves and have-nots. The poet wants to convey that these slums are blots on the map of the civilized and rich world. The filthy slums that comprise the world for the slum children are living hells. Life is worse than death for them. These slums stalk them like death stalks its victim.

There are several literary devices used in the poem "An Elementary School in the Slum" including alliteration, simile, metaphor, imagery, synecdoche, and irony. ... Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound. "From Fog" is an example of the use of alliteration.

The thing ironical about the donations: All the things that has been put up on the sour cream walls of the classroom are all donated by the rich people but are utterly contradicting to their real state or situation or better put, the condition they are living in. For example: The Shakespeare head or his portrait hanging on the wall, whom he described as 'wicked' in the third paragraph because these children cannot relate to his work and words, which were made for the riches of the society. Then the civilised at dome where he is talking about the cities filled with large structures or buildings- symbolic of progress, where the sky is much more clearer as compared to theirs, something which these kids have never witnessed. And the open-handed map depicting all the worlds place like the beautiful valley of Tyrolese. But the truth is their window which shows their real world.

An underground cemetery, especially one consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs. the Catacombs, the subterranean burial chambers of the early Christians in and near Rome, Italy. an underground passageway, especially one full of twists and turns.

The poem written by Stephen spender describes the social inequalities which are prevailing in society. In the poem, he describes the condition of the students of an elementary school which is situated in a slum area.

The tall girl's heads has possibly been weighed down by with the load of poverty and burden of her misfortunes. The tall girl's head has possibly been weighed down by being burdened with sad thoughts about her misfortune, which is making her feel depressed.

The poet notices a young and sweet boy sitting at the back of the class. He is perhaps dreaming about the squirrel’s game. He is perhaps dreaming of having such tree-room for himself also. The poet says that the walls of the classroom are cream. They smell like sour cream. There is a bust of Shakespeare in the classroom. There are pictures of big church and the Tyrolese valley having bell-shaped flowers. There is an open-handed map, which shows all the places of the world. But ironically for the children living in the slum their world is not that map but only the scene that can be seen outside the window of their classroom.

The boy with stunted growth and twisted bones sitting at the desk, is referred to as 'unlucky heir' because he has inherited the gnarled disease of his father that makes him a living example of his father's sufferings.

‘Awarding the world its world’ suggests how the world is determined by the powerful leaders. The poet thus hints at two worlds: the world of poverty, misery, depravity represented in the slums which is contrasted with the world of progress and prosperity, the world of the rich which is shown on the pictures on the wall. This world is far removed from the lives of these slum children and a world that they cannot relate to.