Q.1. 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
Q.2. After what age did the poet realise that he had lost his childhood?
(A) Twelve
(B) Eleven
(C) Ten
(D) Thirteen
Q.3. What the poet could not find in the Geography book?
(A) Hell and Heaven
(B) End to sky
(C) Island
(D) Country
Q.4. What did the poet realise about adults?
(A) That they are mature.
(B) They have to earn money.
(C) They are not what they seem to be.
(D) They are cunning.
Q.5. Why are the adults quite strange in their behaviour?
(A) They talk and preach of love but do not act so lovingly.
(B) They are very shrewd.
(C) They are selfish
(D) They are lazy
Q.6. What did the poet realise about his mind when he lost his childhood?
(A) That he can use it in whichever way he wants.
(B) That he is very intelligent.
(C) That he is dumb.
(D) That he cannot use it in whichever way he wants.
Q.7. 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.
Q.8. Where could he see his childhood now?
(A) In an infant's face
(B) Only in his memories
(C) Nowhere
(D) In his brother
Q.9. Who is the poet of the poem 'Childhood'? (A) Shirley Toulson
(B) Walt Whitman
(C) Marcus Natten
(D) Naipul
Q.10. According to the poet, adults are___
(A) hypocrites
(B) smart
(C) lovable
(D) intelligent and cunning
Q.11. What did the poet sense about himself when he realised he could use his own mind the way he wants?
(A) He sensed that he is as intelligent as his friends.
(B) He sensed his own individuality and a separate personality.
(C) He sensed that he is very smart.
(D) He sensed that he could use his mind in creative work.
Q.12. What refrain literary device is used in the poem 'Childhood'?
(A) When did my childhood go?
(B) Hell and Heaven
(C) Could not be found
(D) That's all I know
Q.13. Where did the poet use 'Antithesis'?
(A) Infant's face
(B) Forgotten place
(C) Hell and Heaven
(D) Preached of love
Q.14. 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
Q.15. What question does the poet put forth? (A) "When did my childhood go?"
(B) "Where did my childhood go?"
(C) Both A and B
(D) None of these
Answer key:-
1. Option (A) is correct.
2. Option (B) is correct.
3. Option (A) is correct.
4. Option (C) is correct.
5. Option (A) is correct.
6. Option (A) is correct.
7. Option (B) is correct.
8. Option (A) is correct.
9. Option (C) is correct.
10. Option (A) is correct.
Explanation: They say something and mean something else. They are not what they seem to be
11. Option (B) is correct.
12. Option (A) is correct.
13. Option (C) is correct.
Explanation: Antithesis is where two opposite words are used together in a sentence in a poem.
14. Option (A) is correct.
Explanation: Repitition of 'w'.
15. Option (C) us correct.
Explanation: When and where did his childhood go?
Extract Based MCQs:-
I. Read the extract give below and answer the following questions by choosing the correct option:
When did my childhood go?
Was it the day I ceased to be eleven.
Was it the time I realised that He'll and Heaven,
Could not be found in Geography,
And therefore could not be,
Was that the day!
Q.1. When does poet realise that his childhood has gone?
(A) When he was not eleven
(B) When he was eleven
(C) When he was more than eleven
(D) All of these
Q.2. why is the age of eleven so important for the poet?
(A) Because then, he can differentiate between fluid and solid.
(B) Because then, he can differentiate between fluke and joke.
(C) Because then, he can differentiate between fact and fiction.
(D) Because then, he can differentiate between acting and realism.
Q.3. What is the quality acquired by the poet at this stage of his life?
(A) The poet has become rational at this stage.
(B) The poet has become irrational at this stage.
(C) The poet has become intelligent at this stage.
(D) The poet has become rationed at this stage.
Q.4. When did the poet know that 'hell' and 'heaven' are imaginary concepts?
(A) When he could not locate these places on a world map.
(B) When he could not locate these places in geography books.
(C) When he could not locate these places in history books.
(D) When he could not locate these places in science books.
Q.5. Why is the poet worried?
(A) Because he has lost his purity of thoughts.
(B) Because he has lost his innocence.
(C) Both (A) & (B)
(D) None of these
II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: When did my childhood go?
Was it the time I realised that adults were not
All they seemed to be,
They talked of love and preached of love,
But did not act so lovingly,
Was that the day!
Q.1. Why does the poet not talk great of grown up people?
(A) Because they do not say what they mean. (B) Because they do not follow the rules which they make.
(C) Because they do not behave in a composed manner.
(D) Because they do not act on what they preach.
Q.2. Why is the poet confused?
(A) He cannot understand whether he is a child or an adult.
(B) He cannot understand whether he is weak or strong.
(C) He cannot understand whether he is a fool or an intelligent one.
(D) He cannot understand whether he is smart or naïve.
Q.3. How does the poet find the adults in this world?
(A) Naïve
(B) Hypocrites
(C) Intelligent
(D) Sensible
Q.4. Which of the following quotes, best describes the adults, according to the poet?
(A) DON'T LET YOUR LIPS AND YOUR LIVES PREACH TWO DIFFERENT MESSAGES.
(B) THOSE WHO SPEND THEIR TIME LOOKING
FOR THE FAULTS IN OTHERS, USUALLY SPEND NO TIME TO CORRECT THEIR OWN.
(C) PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH OR CHANGE YOUR SPEECH.
(D) All of these
Q.5. Choose word from the passage which means 'sermonized'.
(A) Realised
(B) Seemed
(C) Preached
(D) Lovingly
III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
When did my childhood go? Was it when I found my mind was really mine,
To use whichever way I choose,
Producing thoughts that were not those of other people
But my own and mine alone
Was that the day!
Q.1. Explain 'My mind was really mine'.
(A) It means that poet was completely in control of himself.
(B) It means that poet had not borrowed his mind from anyone.
(C) It means that poet got his mind by birth.
(D) It means that poet was a complete person.
Q.2. 'Producing thoughts that were not those of other people. This means:
(A) the poet could express himself.
(B) the poet has gained confidence to express his views independently.
(C) the poet was not the mouthpiece of others.
(D) the poet had the power to produce thoughts.
Q.3. Which stage of life has been under consideration above?
(A) Poet is passing through childhood.
(B) Poet is passing through adolescent.
(C) Poet is passing through adulthood.
(D) Poet is passing through infant.
Q.4. What thoughts of the poet are revealed in these lines?
(A) His independence is expressed here.
(B) His freedom is expressed here.
(C) His security is expressed here.
(D) His individuality is expressed here...
Q.5. Why is the poet eager to know the lost place of his childhood?
(A) The poet cherishes childhood the most.
(B) The post once again wishes to lead the innocent life of a child.
(C) The poet is eager to know where his childhood is hidden.
(D) All of these
Answer Key:-
I. 1. Option (C) is correct.
Explanation: When he stopped being eleven.
2. Option (C) is correct.
Explanation: Knowing the difference between to be and not be.
3. Option (A) is correct.
Explanation: To weight the pros and cons of a subject and then be logical in approach.
4. Option (B) is correct.
5. Option (C) is correct.
Explanation: the poet is worried beacuse he has lost his purity of thoughts and innocense.
II. 1. Option (D) is correct.
2. Option (A) is correct.
3. Option (B) is correct.
Explanation: A hypocrite is a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.
4. Option (D) is correct.
Explanation: All these quotes are about hyprocrites.
5. Option (C) is correct.
III. 1. Option (A) is correct.
Explanation: The poet was not dependent on anyone for understanding things.
2. Option (B) is correct.
3. Option (C) is correct.
4. Option (D) is correct.
5. Option (D) is correct.
Short Answer Type Questions:-
Q.1. What happened when Markus Natten completed eleven years of age?
Ans. At eleven years, the poet Markus Natten understood the difference between fact and fiction. He understood that the things such as hell and heaven are only figments of human imagination.
Q.2 Does the poet think that at eleven years of age he had become an adult?
Ans. Yes, the poet seems to think that it was his first step towards adulthood. This is so because then he had become a rational human being.
Q.3. Why does the poet feel that Heaven and Hell are not real places?
Ans. As the speaker grew mature, he acquired reasoning power. He realized 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. He would believe only what he could see and find.
Q.4. What does the child think about the adult in the poem 'Childhood'?
Ans. The poet of the 'Childhood' Markus Natten found the adults hypocrite. He says that these preached of love, but in their actions, they did not practice it. Thus, they were hypocrites.
Q.5. What did the child feel when he discovered that he could use his mind according to his own thinking?
Ans. The child discovered that he had grown up and was the master of his own mind. So, he could take his own decisions.
Q.6. Does the poet think that his mind belonged to him all the time?
Ans. No, the poet thought that in childhood and till now, his mind did not belong to him. It was occupied by thoughts infused by others in his mind. It was the final step towards adulthood when he realized that he was the master of his own mind and need not be guided by thought's of those around him.
Q. 7. Which do you think is the most important step toward adulthood? Why?
Ans. Having an independent mind free from any outside influence is the most important step towards adulthood. That is why, the poet mentions it as the third and the final step. Other steps like being rational or learning hypocrisy show an outside influence, while this step shows an internal awakening which is the chief quality of human and separates them from other animals.
Q.8. How did the realization of being the master of his own mind help him?
Ans. The realization of being the master of his own mind and could use it in anyway he liked, filled him with self confidence. He could now think independently and need not repeat parrot like thoughts of others.
Q.9. Where has his childhood gone according to the poet?
Ans. The poet cannot exactly remember where his childhood has gone. However, he thinks, that some glimpse of it can be seen in an infant's innocent face.
Q. 10. The first stanza of the poem 'Childhood' begins with the question "when did my childhood go? "But the last stanza begins with "where did my childhood go?" Do you think that change is significant?
Ans. Yes, the change from when to where is certainly significant. It shows that in the third stanza the poet has got his answer to the question 'when. Now, in the final stanza he wants to know where the childhood has gone.
Q.11. What, according to the poem, is involved in the process of growing up?
Ans. According to the poem, the process of growing up involves at least three important steps. First, the child begins to differentiate between truth and fiction. The second step is when he begins to understand the false pretensions of the people around him. The last and the most important step in the process i growing up is independent thinking.
