'Childhood' by Markus Natten
About the poet:
Markus Natten is a poet from Norway. A little is known about the poet. He is best known for his poem "Childhood".
Photograph of Markus Natten
About the poem:
The poem is about the loss of childhood in human life which is, as a result of a gradual development of rationality,hypocrisy and individualism in a human being.
The poet specifically mentions about the childhood period which extends upto the age of eleven.A question came to his mind that wheather he had lost his childhood at that age.
The poet considers childhood as the period of innocency and dependency. At the age of eleven certain quality of a human character is developed which is the first step of losing the childhood and the beginning of adulthood. That is the adolescence stage in human being. Adolescence is the transitional period in human life as certain physical, emotional and behavioural changes occurs in a human being. A human being developed rational thinking, start to act as a rational being. A human being could understand that the hell and heaven are only imaginary concepts and they don't have any real existence.
As the age increases a human being could understand the activities of an adult world very perfectly. The poet could learn about the hypocrisy of the adult world that they talk lovingly but act quite differently The poet wants to know by self inquisition that when had he lost his childhood and was that the exact time of losing his childhood when he had begun to act like an adult.
The poet, as grows up he discovers that he is the owner of his own mind. Because at that period he could think and act according to his own choice and his dependency had gone. The poet realises that was that the exact period of losing his childhood when he could learn to act according to his own choice. The poet finds out the final step of losing his childhood was the growth of of his individual mind.
At last, the poet wants to know the place, exactly, where does he leaves his childhood and realises that he might left his childhood in an infant's face where he could never return.
Summary of the poem:
Stanza 1
The poet starts with a question:"when did my childhood go? ".
The poet wants to find out the exact time of loosing the childhood. The poet asks himself was it the age of eleven, when he developed the ability to rationalise every fact and the ability to differentiate the imaginary and real,may be the exact time of loosing his childhood.The poet could then rationalised what was hell and what was heaven and understood that they existed only in imagination and they didn't have any geographical identity.The poet could then developed the ability to take his own decisions as to what was good or what was bad for him.
The poet mentions the age of eleven because the age of eleven is the period of transition from childhood to adolescence. The poet says that he might lost his childhood as he developed his character as a rational being.
Stanza 2
In this stanza again the poet is questioning "when did my childhood go? ".
The poet asks himself was that the time he had lost his childhood simplicity when he had begun to realise the adult world. The poet was confirmed that he might lost his childhood innocency when he had begun to act as an adult. The poet says he could understand the adult world perfectly that the adults were not doing the same as they talked to do. The poet could understood their hypocrisy and begun to act like them, which may be the first step, he had lost his innocency of his childhood completely.The poet says that might be a great transitional change in his character from childhood to a adulthood.
Stanza 3
In the third stanza, once again the poet is asking the same question, "when did my childhood go? ".The poet asks himself, was that the period when he had developed his own mind ,as to his ability to take decisions,what was good or what was bad for him, the exact time of loosing his childhood. The poet was confirmed that he had lost his childhood at that moment of time when he had developed his own thoughts and gave up following others. The poet says that that was the period when he could developed his own insights or own intellect which might end up his childhood innocency and dependency completely.
Stanza 4
In this stanza the poet asks that same question in a different mood that is :"where did my childhood go? ".The poet wanted to confirm his mind that after becoming an adult he had left his childhood long ago in some forgotten phases of life. The poet says that he could not get back that sweet phase of his life but he could see a glimpse of his childhood again in the innocent face of an infant.
Questions and answers:
1.What according to the poet, is involved in the phase of growing up?
Answer:According to the poet,three different phases of growing up are involved in loosing childhood. They are the growth of rationality, the growth of hypocrisy in adulthood and the growth of individualism in a human being.
The growth of rationality
After the age of eleven a human being develops it's character as a rational being.That is a period of transition from childhood to adolescence. One develops the ability to rationalise what is real and what is imaginary.
At that period one could easily understand the hell and heaven are only imaginary concepts and have no geographical existence, exists only in human mind.
The growth of hypocrisy in adulthood
As the age increases a human being learns and understands the adult world. His mind becomes matured and learns the art of hypocrisy. He begins to act like other adults. That is the second step of becoming matured and Loosing of childhood innocency.
The growth of individualism
A human being develops his character as an
Individual being which has taken away the childhood completely.Then he develops his ability to think for himself and could work what would be good for himself. A human being could take his own decisions. His childhood character of dependency has lost or gone. He becoms a complete individual.
2.What is the poet's feeling towards childhood?
Answer:The poet feels the childhood is the period of innocency, dependency and simplicity.
3.What do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Answer:The most poetic lines of the poem are "when did my childhood go? " at beginning of the first three stanzas and "Where did my childhood go? " at beginning of the last stanza, creats a poetic sensibility. In the first three stanzas the poetical term "when" Suggests the enquiry of the exact time and the term "where" Suggests the enquiry about the place.
Theme of the poem:
The poet deals with a theme of transitional changes occurred in gradual loss of childhood in human life starts at loosing of innocency, simplicity and dependency and in the process of growing up the development of rationalism, hypocrisy and Individualism. The poet is also deals in a fact that Childhood is lost as a process growing up in human life and after development of certain qualities in a human being.
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