Childhood
Class 11 English · Hornbill – Poems · Chapter 4
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The story in short
Markus Natten's introspective poem asks repeatedly when and where the poet's childhood went, exploring what is lost in the process of growing up. Each stanza considers a possible moment of transition. The first wonders whether childhood ended on the day the poet ceased to be eleven and realised that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography and therefore could not literally exist — a moment of rationalism replacing childlike faith. The second wonders whether it was the day the poet realised that adults were not all they seemed to be, that they talked and preached of love but did not act lovingly — a recognition of adult hypocrisy. The third wonders whether childhood went when the poet discovered that his mind was really his own, free to produce thoughts that were his alone and not borrowed from others — the dawning of individuality and independent thinking. In the final stanza the poet concludes that his lost childhood has gone to "some forgotten place," hidden in an infant's face — suggesting that innocence survives only in very young children. The poem treats growing up as the loss of innocence and faith, gained through rationalism, awareness of hypocrisy and the assertion of individual identity, and conveys the poet's tender, regretful longing for the lost world of childhood.
Childhood
Characters & key ideas
Rationalismreasoning that replaces childlike faith, as when Hell and Heaven are doubted.
Hypocrisythe gap between what adults preach about love and how they actually act.
Individualitythe discovery that one's mind and thoughts are truly one's own.
Innocencethe childlike purity that is lost in growing up and survives in an infant's face.
Refrainthe repeated question "When did my childhood go?" structuring the poem.
Growing upthe loss of innocence through reason, awareness and independent identity.
Extra questions & answers (board-style)
Try one from this chapter
Who wrote the poem "Childhood"?