Chapter 12

Childhood Summary

The poet seems puzzled about the loss of childhood. It is natural in the process of growing up. Still, the poet tries to find an answer to his two queries: When did my childhood go? and Where did my childhood go?

The first possibility of the time of departure of his childhood relates to the age when he had completed the age of eleven. It was then that he developed a power of understanding. Then he became aware that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography. Since they could not be located anywhere in world, he concluded that they did not exist. He thus reached a logical conclusion based on his reasoning power.

The second possibility relates to the time when he realized the hypocrisy of the adults They were not all that they seemed to be They talked of love and gave advice of love but did not act so affectionately.

The third possibility relates to the time when he found that he was the master of his mind. He could use it which ever way helchose He could now produce his own thoughts and need not repeat those of others. A sense of individuality dawned on him. He wonders whether he lost his childhood on one of these days.

In the final stanza, the poet dwells on the problem where his childhood has disappeared. On the basis of his limited knowledge he thinks that his childhood went to some forgotten place that was hidden in an infant's face. The poet implies that adolescence follows childhood in the same way as childhood had replaced infancy. It is a stage in the process of growing up.

We hope CBSE/MP Board Class 11th English "Hornbill Poem" Chapter 4 "The Childhood" will Help you.

Written By - Priyanka Sharma