An
Elementary School Class Room In a Slum
Theme: The poem focuses
on themes of social injustice and class in equalities. Stephen Spender conveys
a message that the world of the rich and the world of the slum dwellers are two
contrasting and incompatible worlds. For achieving my significant progress and
development, the gap between the 2 worlds must be bridged. This can be achieved
my by breaking the barrier that bind the slum children in dark narrow cramped
holes and lanes. The light of education and freedom can end class inequalities.
The poet visualizes an equalitarian society.
STANZAS FOR
COMPREHENSION
Read the stanzas given
below and answer the questions that follow:
I. Far far from gusty waves these
children's faces.
Like rootless weeds, the hair tom round
their pallor:
The tall girl with her weighed-down
head. The paper-
seeming boy, with rat's eyes. The
stunted, unlucky heir
Of twisted bones, reciting a father's
gnarled disease,
His lesson, from his desk. At back of
the dim class
One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes
live in a dream,
Of squirrel's game, in tree room, other
than this.
Word-Meanings:
Far far-very far, Gusty-blowing
strongly; Rootless weeds-uprooted unwanted plants; Pallor-pale unhealthy
appearance; The hair torn around their pallor-hair scattered around their pale
faces; Weighed down-ill-exhausted (burdened with poverty), depressed; Paper-seeming-looking
lean and thin; Stunted-not fully grown; Twisted bones -bent, distorted bones;
recited-living with the disease inherited from parents, Unlucky heir-unfortunate successor;
Gnarled-knotty (disease causing knots in finger joints); Dim-not bright; Tree
room-a room made in the tree; Other than This- other than the classroom
2. How do the faces of the children of the
classroom in a slum look like?
3. What does 'girl with her weighed down
head’ mean?
4. Why is the boy referred to as
'paper-seeming boy with rat’s eyes'?
5. Why is the child stunted?
6. Who is at the back of the dim class?
7. What is he dreaming of?
8. Find words from the stanza which mean
(a) blowing strongly (b)
pallor
II. On sour cream walls, donations
Shakespear's head,
Cloudless
at dawn, civilized dome riding all cities.
Belled,
flowery, Tyrolese valley. Open-handed map
Awarding
the world its world. And yet, for these
Children,
these windows, not this map, their world,
Where
all their future's painted with a fog,
A
narrow street sealed in with a lead sky
Far
for from rivers, capes and stars of words.
Word-Meanings:
Sour cream-dirty,
unpleasant, dirty yellowish, dirty white; Donation -things given as gifts;
Shakespear's head-statue of Shakespeare's head, (bust); Civilized dome-any
building of the civilized world; Belled=with bells; Tyrolese valley=Valley in
Tyrol in Austria; Its world-world divided into countries by its conquerors
(depicting the world of the rich) ; Not this map-not the map of the rich but
the map of the poor; Fog—bleak, dreary future; Sealed in-enclosed in; Lead sky-
grey sky, dismal and depressing( also suggesting polluted cityscape) rivers,
capes – Beautiful world of green, Stars of words – words of inspiration
(literacy which is far away from the slums).
- Describe the classroom in the elementary school?
- Why does the classroom fail to attract the pupils?
- What does open handed map mean?
- 'Awarding the world its world', what does this line signify?
- Why is map of the world meaningless?
- What does painted with a fog mean?
- What are the things that lend contrast to the slum children and their environment?
- Why are the windows not opening the world for these children?
- Where does the world of slum children lie?
III. Surely,
Shakespeare is wicked, the map a bad example,
With ships and
sun and love tempting them to steal-
For lives that
slyly turn in their cramped holes.
From fog to
endless night? On their slag heap, these children
Wear skins
peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel
With mended
glass, like bottle bits on stones.
All of their
time and space are foggy slum.
So blot their
maps with slums as big as doom.
Word-Meanings:
Surely---definitely,
certainly; Wicked-not good; Tempting--enticing; Tempting them to steal-the
goods,Thingsdonated arouse their temptation and make them steal and join the
world of crime; Metaphorically it suggests falls hope and aspirations, yearning
to snatch that does not belong to them; From fog to endless night-from one
uncertainty to another, bleak dreary future without any end, without any hope;
Slag-waste material; Heap-mound, pile (mounds of garbage on which they spend
their life) ; Metaphorically it also
suggests weighed by the burden of poverty; peeped; The physical development of
slum children (emaciated, weak and bonny) Bottle bits on stone-A graphic
description of chipped, scratchy glasses of spectacles worn by children Slums-dirty hutments, settlements; Blot-blemish;
Their maps-maps with places for the rich; Doom-ruin, hell; Slyly-cunningly,
deceitfully, secretly, Big as doom – more and more people get marginalized
- Why is “Shakespeare wicked” and map a bad example?
2. What
do ships, sun and love imply?
3. Why do the slum children turn in their
cramped hole?
4. Why is the night endless for slum children?
5. Which figure of speech is used in the
above lines? Identify.
6. Which line in the above stanza shows
that the children are physically weak ?
7. Mention the words that suggest their
poverty?
8. What blots 'their' map?
9. Explain the last two lines of the given
stanza.
IV. Unless, governor, inspector, visitor,
This
map becomes their window and these windows
That
shut upon their lives like catacombs,
Break
0 break open till they break the town
And
show the children green fields, and make their world
Run
azure on gold sands, and let their tongues
Run
naked into books the white and green leaves open
History
theirs whose language is the sun.
Word-Meanings:
This map becomes their
window-the map of the rich world becomes their map- but they fail to identify
themselves with the map (the gap needs to be bridged); Shut upon their Lives-stop
their progress; Catacombs- (simile) underground graves (perpetual haze of gloom
and hopelessness symbolizing darkness and illiteracy) ; Azure-sky blue; Gold
sands- golden sand on the coast; Tongue run naked-to be able to express freely,
read freely; Into books the white and green leaves open---could be the books
purchased with their own money (white and green leaves) and not the donated
ones (freedom of choice according to their interest and ability); Whose
language is the sun-sun symbolises, strength warmth, courage and the ability to
drive away fog (here despair and insecurity) with the light of education.
History is theirs (where progress and accomplishments is made.
- What does the reference to the governor, inspector and visitor imply?
- How does the map become their window?
- What is the positive imagery used in the stanza?
- How does the poet view the liberated children? How will it bring a change in their life?
5. 'till they break the town', explain it
in your own words.
6. What do 'catacombs' mean?
8. What
does sun symbolise?
9. Where
does poet see hope and relief for slum children?
10. The
poem is a scathing/ bitter criticism of the state of education in schools in
slums.
Comment
POETIC
DEVICES:
IMAGES AND SYMBOLS
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Gusty waves
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Rootless weeds
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Paper-seeming boy
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Twisted bones
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Sour-cream walls
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Shakespeare's head
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Tyrolese valley
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Open-handed map
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Ships and sun
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Cramped holes
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Bottle bits on stones
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Gold sands
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ALLITERATION
- Far far from gusty waves
- Surely Shakespeare
- Bottle bitsSIMILES
- like rootless weeds
- like bottle bits on stones
- like catacombs
- slums as big as doomMETAPHORS
- Rat's eyes
- Father's gnarled disease
- Squirrel's game
- Tree room
- Open-handed map
- Future's painted with a fog
- Lead sky
- Cramped holes
- Slag heap
- Wear skins peeped through by bones
- Spectacles of steel
- Let their tongues run naked into books
- White and green leaves open
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