CBSE Class 11 English Childhood Poem Notes 2026-27: Summary, Themes and NCERT Answers | Nextoper Notes
These Childhood poem Class 11 notes explain the poem stanza by stanza. You get the summary, the three signs of growing up, themes and NCERT answers. You also get 10 MCQs and a revision box.
What is the poem Childhood about?
Childhood is a short poem by Markus Natten in Class 11 English Hornbill. The speaker asks when his childhood ended. He suggests three moments. He began to reason. He saw adults were hypocrites. He found his own mind. Finally, he says his childhood now hides in an infant’s face.
The poem is thoughtful and a little sad. It looks back at lost innocence. Use this table for quick facts.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Book | Hornbill, NCERT Class 11 English Core |
| Place in book | Poem after The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role |
| Poet | Markus Natten |
| Form | Four stanzas; the first three end “Was that the day!” |
| Speaker | A young person looking back on childhood |
| Key age | Eleven, when he “ceased to be eleven” |
| Central idea | Childhood ends when innocence gives way to reason and independence |
You can read the poem free on the official NCERT Hornbill chapter PDF.
What happens in Childhood? (Stanza-wise summary)
In this Class 11 Hornbill poem, three stanzas ask “When did my childhood go?” Stanza 1 points to reason. Stanza 2 points to adult hypocrisy. Stanza 3 points to having his own thoughts. Stanza 4 changes the question to “Where?” and answers it.
Stanza 1: reason arrives
The speaker asks when his childhood went. Was it the day he stopped being eleven?
Or was it when he realised Hell and Heaven were not on any map? He could not find them in geography. So he decided they could not exist. He began to think logically.
Stanza 2: adults are not what they seem
He asks again. Was it when he saw that adults were not what they seemed?
They talked about love and preached love. But they did not act lovingly. He saw their hypocrisy. His trust in grown-ups broke.
Stanza 3: his own mind
He asks once more. Was it when he found his mind was really his own?
He could use it however he chose. He could form thoughts that were not other people’s. They were his alone. He became an individual.
Stanza 4: where did it go?
The question now changes from “when” to “where.” He says his childhood went to some forgotten place.
That place is hidden in an infant’s face. That is all he knows. Only a baby still has true innocence.
Who is the speaker in Childhood?
The speaker in this Class 11 Hornbill poem is a young person who has just grown up. He looks back and wonders when his innocence ended. He is thoughtful, honest and a little sad. He does not blame anyone. He simply notices how he changed.
| Figure | Who they are | Role in the poem |
|---|---|---|
| The speaker | A young person, just past childhood | Asks when and where his childhood went |
| The adults | Grown-ups around him | Preach love but don’t act lovingly |
| The infant | Any baby | Still holds the innocence he has lost |
How does the speaker feel about childhood?
He feels nostalgic and a little sad. He misses the innocence and trust he once had. But he also values his new freedom of thought. His feelings are mixed.
What are the three signs of growing up in Childhood?
Childhood, a Class 11 English Hornbill poem, names three signs of growing up. They are rationalism, noticing hypocrisy, and individuality. Each appears in one stanza. NCERT asks you to match each idea to its stanza. This table gives you that answer in a clear, easy-to-remember form.
| Stanza | Sign of growing up | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rationalism (logical thinking) | He decides Hell and Heaven cannot exist, as no map shows them |
| 2 | Hypocrisy (seeing adults clearly) | Adults preach love but don’t act lovingly |
| 3 | Individuality (his own mind) | He forms thoughts that are his own, not others’ |
| 4 | Loss and nostalgia | Childhood is now hidden in an infant’s face |
What are the main themes of Childhood?
Childhood, a Class 11 English Hornbill poem, has four main themes. They are loss of innocence, growing up, adult hypocrisy and the birth of individuality. The poem shows that growing up is gradual. It brings freedom of thought. It also brings loss of the trusting child within.
| Theme | Where you see it |
|---|---|
| Loss of innocence | Childhood “went to some forgotten place” |
| Growing up | Three stages of change, one per stanza |
| Adult hypocrisy | Adults preach love but don’t practise it |
| Individuality | His mind becomes “mine alone” |
| Nostalgia | He looks back, searching for what is gone |
Why is the poem called Childhood?
The whole poem searches for childhood. The speaker cannot find the exact moment it ended. The title names what he has lost.
Which poetic devices are used in Childhood?
This Class 11 Hornbill poem uses repetition, rhetorical questions, rhyme and a strong closing image. “When did my childhood go?” repeats in three stanzas. “Was that the day!” closes them. The last stanza rhymes “place” with “face.” So the poem feels like a personal search.
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Refrain / repetition | “When did my childhood go?” | Shows a restless search |
| Rhetorical question | “Was it the day…?” | Invites us to think too |
| Rhyme | “place” / “face”; “eleven” / “Heaven” | Gives a song-like flow |
| Imagery | “hidden in an infant’s face” | Shows innocence in a baby |
| Contrast | Preaching love vs acting lovingly | Exposes hypocrisy |
| Exclamation | “Was that the day!” | Shows sudden realisation |
What do the difficult words in Childhood mean?
Childhood, a Class 11 English Hornbill poem, uses simple language. The hard words are mostly ideas. To cease means to stop. To preach means to teach morals. Hypocrisy means saying one thing but doing another. Individuality means having your own mind. Learn these to explain the poem well.
| Word | Simple meaning |
|---|---|
| Ceased | Stopped |
| Realised | Understood clearly |
| Geography | Study of places on earth; here, maps |
| Preached | Taught about right and wrong |
| Hypocrisy | Saying one thing but doing another |
| Rationalism | Believing only what reason can prove |
| Individuality | Having your own thoughts and identity |
| Infant | A baby |
| Innocence | Being pure and trusting |
What are the NCERT answers for Childhood?
The NCERT “Think it out” exercise for this Class 11 Hornbill poem has four questions. They ask you to match stanzas to individuality, rationalism and hypocrisy. They also ask about growing up and the poet’s feeling. The last asks for the most poetic lines. Check exact wording in your book.
Questions follow the NCERT exercise; check your textbook for exact wording. Answers are written by Nextoper.
Q1. Identify the stanza that talks of each of the following: individuality, rationalism, hypocrisy.
Rationalism is in stanza 1. Hypocrisy is in stanza 2. Individuality is in stanza 3.
Q2. What, according to the poem, is involved in the process of growing up?
Growing up means learning to reason. It means seeing that adults do not always practise what they preach. It also means forming your own thoughts. Along the way, childhood innocence is lost.
Q3. What is the poet’s feeling towards childhood?
He feels nostalgic and wistful. He misses its innocence and wonders where it went. He knows he cannot get it back. He sees it only in an infant’s face.
Q4. Which do you think are the most poetic lines? Why?
Many readers choose the last stanza. Childhood went “to some forgotten place” hidden “in an infant’s face.” The image is simple and moving. It shows that innocence lives on in every new baby. The rhyme also makes it memorable.
What MCQs come from Childhood?
Here are 10 practice MCQs on Childhood, Class 11 English Hornbill. Nextoper wrote them. Each answer has a one-line reason from the poem. They test facts, stanza ideas and devices. Cover the answers and try each question. Then check how you did.
Q1. Who wrote Childhood?
(a) Ted Hughes (b) Markus Natten (c) Walt Whitman (d) Elizabeth Jennings
Answer: (b) Markus Natten.
Q2. At what age did childhood possibly end?
(a) Nine (b) Ten (c) Eleven (d) Thirteen
Answer: (c) When he “ceased to be eleven.”
Q3. Where could Hell and Heaven not be found?
(a) In books (b) In geography (c) In temples (d) In dreams
Answer: (b) In geography, so he doubted them.
Q4. Stanza 1 is mainly about
(a) hypocrisy (b) rationalism (c) individuality (d) love
Answer: (b) Rationalism, or logical thinking.
Q5. What did adults preach?
(a) Honesty (b) Love (c) Hard work (d) Peace
Answer: (b) Love, but they did not act lovingly.
Q6. Stanza 2 shows adults’
(a) kindness (b) hypocrisy (c) wisdom (d) anger
Answer: (b) Hypocrisy.
Q7. Stanza 3 is about
(a) individuality (b) friendship (c) school (d) religion
Answer: (a) Individuality; his mind becomes his own.
Q8. Where is childhood hidden now?
(a) In an old photo (b) In an infant’s face (c) In a toy box (d) In a dream
Answer: (b) In an infant’s face.
Q9. “When did my childhood go?” is an example of
(a) simile (b) rhetorical question (c) metaphor (d) onomatopoeia
Answer: (b) A rhetorical question, repeated as a refrain.
Q10. In the last stanza, the question changes to
(a) Why did it go? (b) Where did it go? (c) Who took it? (d) Will it return?
Answer: (b) “Where did my childhood go?”
What should you revise the night before the exam?
To revise this Class 11 Hornbill poem fast, learn the R-H-I order and the final image. Then remember one big idea. The big idea is that childhood does not end on one day. It fades as you begin to reason, judge adults and think for yourself.
Stanza order: “R-H-I, then Infant”
- Rationalism – stanza 1, Hell and Heaven not on any map
- Hypocrisy – stanza 2, adults preach love but don’t act it
- Individuality – stanza 3, his mind becomes his own
- Infant – stanza 4, childhood hidden in a baby’s face
Key numbers
11 – the age he “ceased to be.” 4 – stanzas. 3 – times he asks “When?”
One big idea: Thinking for yourself is growing up; innocence lives on in babies.
Self-check: can you answer these in one line?
| Question | Tick when you can answer |
|---|---|
| Which stanza shows rationalism? | [ ] |
| Why did he doubt Hell and Heaven? | [ ] |
| What hypocrisy did he notice? | [ ] |
| What does “my mind was really mine” mean? | [ ] |
| How does the last stanza differ? | [ ] |
| Where is his childhood now? | [ ] |
| What is the poet’s feeling about childhood? | [ ] |
What practice questions can you try on Childhood?
These are Nextoper practice questions on Childhood, Class 11 English Hornbill. They are not previous-year board questions. They follow the usual short-answer, long-answer and extract formats. Write full answers first. Then compare them with the summary, signs table and themes on this page.
Practice questions: These questions are written by Nextoper for practice. They are not previous-year board questions.
Short answer (about 40-50 words)
- Why does the speaker mention geography in stanza 1?
- How did adults disappoint the speaker?
- What new freedom did the speaker gain?
- Why does the poet change “When” to “Where” in the last stanza?
- Why is an infant’s face a good place for lost childhood?
Long answer (about 120-150 words)
- Growing up brings both gain and loss. Discuss with reference to Childhood.
- Compare Childhood with A Photograph as poems about time and loss.
- Describe a moment when you felt you had grown up.
Extract-based practice
Read: “They talked of love and preached of love, / But did not act so lovingly.”
- Who are “they”?
- What quality of theirs is shown here?
- How did this affect the speaker?
What mistakes do students make in Childhood?
Students often lose marks on Childhood, Class 11 English Hornbill, through small slips. Common errors include mixing up the stanza order and writing the wrong age. Another is saying the poem names one exact day. Check each fact below against the poem before you write your answer.
These are common slips in student answers. Each correction is based on the poem’s text.
| Common mistake | What the poem says |
|---|---|
| “Stanza 1 is about hypocrisy” | Stanza 1 is rationalism; stanza 2 is hypocrisy. |
| “Childhood ended at age twelve” | He asks if it was when he “ceased to be eleven.” |
| “He knows the exact day” | He only asks; he is never sure. |
| “Adults did not talk about love” | They talked and preached of love, but did not act lovingly. |
| “Childhood is in an old photo” | It is “hidden in an infant’s face.” |
| “All four stanzas ask ‘When?'” | The last stanza asks “Where?” |
| Spelling the poet “Marcus Nattan” | The poet is Markus Natten. |
What is the short answer on Childhood?
Short answer
Childhood is a poem by Markus Natten in Class 11 English Hornbill. The speaker asks when his childhood went. Maybe when he began to reason, after age eleven. Maybe when he saw adults’ hypocrisy. Maybe when his mind became his own. He ends by saying childhood now hides in an infant’s face.
What do students ask about Childhood?
Students most often ask who wrote Childhood and what its central idea is. They also ask which stanza shows which idea. Two more common questions cover where childhood goes and the poet’s feelings. Short, exam-ready answers to all five follow below, each based on the poem.
Who wrote the poem Childhood?
Markus Natten wrote Childhood. It is the fourth poem in Hornbill, the NCERT Class 11 English textbook.
What is the central idea of Childhood?
Childhood ends gradually as we begin to reason, see adult hypocrisy and think for ourselves. Innocence is lost, but it lives on in infants.
Which stanzas talk of rationalism, hypocrisy and individuality?
Stanza 1 is rationalism. Stanza 2 is hypocrisy. Stanza 3 is individuality.
Where did the poet’s childhood go?
He says it went to a forgotten place, hidden in an infant’s face. Only a baby still has pure innocence.
What is the poet’s attitude towards childhood?
He is nostalgic and a little sad. He misses childhood’s innocence but accepts that growing up brings independent thought.
What is the key takeaway from Childhood?
Childhood, from Class 11 English Hornbill, shows that growing up is quiet and gradual. You learn to reason. You see adults clearly. You find your own voice. Each step is a gain and a loss. The poem asks you to treasure innocence, even as you leave it behind.
Revise the R-H-I order and the infant’s face image. With those, you can answer almost any question on this poem.
Next poem: The last Hornbill poem sees the gap between generations from a parent’s side. Read Father to Son notes next.
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Related notes
Read these notes next to keep your Class 11 English Hornbill revision in book order. The hub page lists every chapter and poem in one place.
About the author and reviewer
How we prepared this: These notes are based on NCERT Hornbill (2026-27 reprint). We wrote every explanation in our own words and updated the page on 2 November 2026.
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