NCERT Solutions: Poem 4 - Childhood

Think It Out

Q1: Identify the stanzas that talks of each of the following.

Ans:

• Individuality is treated in the third stanza, where the poet emphasises a person's distinct character and inner qualities.
• Rationalism is presented in the first stanza, which focuses on reason, clear thinking and the ability to judge for oneself.
• Hypocrisy is exposed in the second stanza, where adults are shown to preach one thing while practising another, revealing a contrast between words and actions.

Q2: What according to the poem is involved in the process of growing up?
Ans: Growing up involves the development of mental maturity. It means gaining the ability to think logically and to form independent opinions. A grown-up can distinguish between reality and illusion and understands why people behave the way they do. The poem also points out that adults may say one thing but do another, and as we mature we become aware of these double standards. Finally, maturity includes learning to state and stand by one's own thoughts confidently.

Q3: What is the poet's feeling towards childhood?
Ans: The poet does not appear to be sad or openly nostalgic about losing childhood; he is puzzled and uncertain about how it vanished. His questioning tone, shown in lines such as "When" and "Where did my childhood go?", expresses curiosity about the gradual change from childhood to adulthood rather than simple sorrow.

Q4: Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Ans: The most poetic lines in the poem are:
'It went to some forgotten place,
That's hidden in an infant's face;
That's all I know.'

These lines are poetic because they capture the mystery and transience of childhood. The image of an infant's face suggests that childhood is contained in simple innocence and expression, and the lines express how childhood cannot be fully recovered once it is gone, even though its traces remain within us.