Think it Out
1. Identify the stanza that talks to each of the following :
Individuality rationalism hypocrisy
Ans. individuality Stanza 3
rationalism Stanza 1
hypocrisy Stanza 2
2. What according to the poem is involved in the process of growing up?
Ans. The process of growing up involves at least three steps.
First step: The child begins to notice the difference between facts and fiction, reality and imagination.
Second step: With age there comes practical wisdom. He notices the hypocrisy of the people. They did not really mean or practise what they said.
Third step: Independent thinking.
3. What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood?
Ans. The poet misses his childhood, which stands for innocence and honesty. A child is away from hypocrisy. He longs for his lost childhood. During the process of growing up, one becomes self-centred, cunning and mindless.
4. Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Ans. The most poetic lines in the poem are: `It went to some forgotten place. That’s hidden in an infant’s face. Childhood once lost cannot be regained or recalled. It can only be seen in the face of a little one.