9. Unseen Poem Comprehension for Class 8

CHILDHOOD

Read the following poem carefully:

 When did my childhood go?

Was it the day I ceased to be eleven

Was it the time I realized that Hell and Heaven

Could not be found in Geography

And therefore could not be,

Was that the day!

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 the day!

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!

Where my childhood go?

It went to some forgotten place,

That’s hidden in an infant’s face

That’s all I know

Choose the most appropriate  option out of the following:   

 (i)When the poet ceased to be eleven he realized that…………………

 (a)he was no more a child              (b)he had become an adult

 (c)he was more than a boy now    (d)his childhood had gone and Hell and Heaven didn’t exist at all but in the mind.

 (ii)Perhaps he lost his childhood when he realized that…………………..

  (a)adults were cheats                               (b)adults talked of love and acted accordingly

(c)adults talked and preached of love     (d)adults talked and preached of love but acted quite differently.

(iii)When he found that his mind was really his own it meant that………..

 (a)he didn’t need any guidance              (b)he was under the influence of others

  (c)he could guide others                         (d)he could guide and act independently.

(iv) All that the poet knows that his childhood has gone and hidden………………

 (a)itself in the past                                   (b)where he can’t find it, anyone,

(c)in an infant’s innocent face                 (d)itself in his youth     

(v)The opposite of the word ‘hidden’ is

  (a)out               (b)open                         (c)crushed              (d)clear.

Download the above Poem in PDF (Printable)

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