✍️ An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum – Important Questions and Answers
✅ 1. Who is the poet of the poem “An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum”?
Answer:
The poet of this poem is Stephen Spender, a poet and essayist known for his works on social injustice and class inequalities.
✅ 2. What is the central theme of the poem?
Answer:
The poem portrays the miserable condition of children living in urban slums. It criticizes social inequality and lack of opportunities for these children, highlighting their hopelessness, poverty, and the urgent need for educational reform and freedom.
✅ 3. Describe the condition of the children in the classroom.
Answer:
The children are weak, malnourished, and sickly. One child is described as having a twisted body, another has eyes like a rat, and some appear pale due to lack of proper food and care. Their faces reflect despair and lack of hope.
✅ 4. What contrast does the poet draw between the children and the world outside?
Answer:
The poet contrasts the dark, confined, and depressing slum classroom with the bright, beautiful world outside, full of nature, opportunities, and freedom. The children are trapped in poverty, while the world outside is full of possibilities that they are denied.
✅ 5. What does the phrase “sealed in with a lead sky” imply?
Answer:
The phrase “sealed in with a lead sky” suggests that the children are trapped under a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, both literally and metaphorically. It symbolizes their hopeless future and lack of freedom, like being stuck under a heavy, unmovable lid.
✅ 6. What is the poet’s appeal to the authorities?
Answer:
Stephen Spender appeals to the government and educated people to take responsibility for these children. He urges them to break the barriers of the slum, bring these children into the open world, and give them access to quality education and equal opportunities.
✅ 7. Why does the poet use stark and unpleasant imagery in the poem?
Answer:
The poet uses harsh and disturbing imagery to reflect the realities of life in a slum. It helps the reader to visualize the suffering of these children and evokes a sense of urgency to bring about change.
✅ 8. Explain the significance of the map in the classroom.
Answer:
The map on the wall symbolizes the world of dreams and possibilities which is unreachable for the slum children. It stands in contrast to their dark reality, representing what they are excluded from due to poverty and neglect.
✅ 9. What is the poetic style of Stephen Spender in this poem?
Answer:
Stephen Spender uses free verse with no rhyme scheme. His style is direct, descriptive, and realistic, focusing on imagery, symbolism, and contrast to highlight the social message of inequality and need for change.
✅ 10. What is the message of the poem “An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum”?
Answer:
The poem gives a strong message against social injustice and inequality. It urges society to break the barriers of poverty and give equal educational and life opportunities to underprivileged children so that they can build a better future.
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