Very Short Questions

Question 1 : Why is the speaker of the poem unhappy?

Answer : The speaker of the poem, a little boy, is unhappy because he doesn’t like going to the school.

Question 2 : What is the boy fond of doing?

Answer : The boy is fond of waking up in  a summer morning and spending his time observing birds in the tree and admiring elements of his natural surroundings.

Question 3 : Whom does the boy try to explain his situation to?

Answer : The boy tries to explain his situation to his mother and father.

Question 4 : How does the boy spends his day at school?

Answer : The boy spends his day of drooping. He does nothing but sighs in distress and dismay.

Short Questions

Question 1 : What does the poet intend to convey through this poem?

Answer : The poet offers a critique of the societal restrictions that are imposed upon the nature loving human beings. The boy longs for freedom.

But, the poet discusses how the educational system is destroying the childhood and innocence of the young children, who spend their days ‘sighing in dismay’ when in school.

Question 2 : Do you think the boy is imaginative?

Answer : Yes, the boy seems to be quite imaginative. He seems to be comparing himself to caged birds, buds and plants.

The same boy, however, when in school, becomes dull and tired under the pressure of boring and monotonous lectures.

Question 3 : Who could the child be fearing in stanza 4?

Answer : The child may be referring to the annoyance of the school teachers. On being dull and non-respondent, he might have to incur the wrath of the school teachers.

The fear of being under the surveillance of the teachers and being punished by them makes the child wilt further.

Value Based Questions

Question 1 : The poet deeply sympathizes with the boy. Do you agree?

Answer : Yes, the poet deeply sympathizes with the boy’s condition.

He is moved by the agony suffered by the boy on account of educational system robbing away the pleasures of childhood.

The poet looks at ‘childhood’ as one of the formative phases of a person’s life. The poet is deeply moved to see the young boys setting frustrated because of meaningless curriculum thus is imposed upon them especially when rather than shaping their personality it is destroying it.