An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum by Stephen Spender

Hello Friends.

Today we will discuss the second poem "An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum" by Stephen Spender :

About the Poet :

Stephen Spender (1909-1995) was an English poet and an essayist. He left University College, Oxford without taking a degree and went to Berlin in 1930. Spender took a keen interest in politics and declared himself to be a socialist and pacifist. Books by Spender include Poems of Dedication, The Edge of Being, The Creative Element, The Struggle of the Modern and an autobiography, World Within World. In, An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum, he has concentrated on themes of social injustice and class inequalities.

Study of the Text  : 

Download Text : An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

Poem Stanza- I	Difficult word meaning
Far far from gusty waves these children’s faces. Like rootless weeds, the hair torn 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.	Gusty waves: breezy winds Pallor: pale, dull face, weeds: unwanted plants Paper seeming: Very thin as a paper Stunted: not fully grown due to malnutrition Gnarled: rough & twisted     Tree room : Squirrel’s nest in tree
Literary devices: Simile: children are compared with rootless weed (like rootless weed) Metaphor: boy is compared with paper as he is thin (paper seeming boy), Rat’s eyes, Repetition: use of far to stress on the distance

In the Opening stanza The poet has depicted the physical and mental condition of children sitting in the slum area class room. Their faces are dull & listless. They are compared to the weeds which grow at their own. Their hair is not done properly. Their faces are pale. The tall girl seems burdened by poverty. Her head is bent down maybe because either of tiredness or shame. There is another boy who is so weak and thin that he has been compared to a sheet of paper. The boy is lean and thin, his eyes are like that of a rat, searching for food. Another boy is said to be unlucky because he has inherited a disease causing deformity in his body. This boy is reciting his lesson from his desk. At the back of the class, in dim, dark area, a small boy was sitting in darkness. The poet could see his eyes which were bright and full of a dream. He was not paying attention to the class. It seemed as if he was rather interested in playing with squirrels in the tree house.

Poem Stanza- II	Difficult word meaning
On sour cream walls, donations. Shakespeare’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 far from rivers, capes, and stars of words.	Sour: unpleasant-off white or creamish, Donations: names of people who gave donations. Dawn: early morning, sunrise, Civilized dome: shape of a dome (semi - circle) Tyrolese valley: A beautiful ice-free valley in Austria, Open-handed: Generous       Sealed: shut or locked, lead: dark future of kids Capes: A large piece of land that sticks out into the sea from the coast
Literary devices: Metaphor: 1. Walls are described to be dull as sour cream (sour cream walls) 2.  The future of the kids is described as limited (Narrow Street sealed with a lead sky) Repetition: ‘far’ repeated

In this stanza The poet has presented before us the poor infrastructure of the slum class room. The walls are sour cream. There are names of donators, portrait of Shakespeare whose bald head looks like the dome shape of rising run. It seems to be behind all the cities. There is a picture of the famous Tyrolese valley with beautiful flowers. There is the image of a map which helps all in its own way. But for these children the map of the world is useless because they live in slum which is different from what is shown in the map. The slum is their whole world. Their future is dark with gloom and despair. Their future is compressed in the narrow streets of the slum and thus having no scope for their future growth. These children are far away from the light of education.

Poem Stanza- III	Difficult word meaning
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	Wicked: evil Tempted: persuade; influence Slyly: trickily, Cramped: confined, restricted Slag: weak, Heap: pile   Mended: repaired Foggy: dim, dark Blot: to mark with a spot, Doom: disaster
Literary Devices : Metaphor: the homes of slum children are compared with holes (cramped holes) Simile- spectacles are repaired and with broken glass (like bottle bits on stones)

The poet depicts the difficulties faced by them in the slum. Shakespeare is an evil man. They don’t find the map of any relevancy to them. They were never liked or loved by anyone. So they hate everyone. Their desire of being loved by others forces them to steal and try to escape from this bleak world. They live in small homes. Their whole life is full of darkness. Their skin is like the thin layer of cloth and the bones beneath are visible through the skin due to malnutrition. The children were just like skeletons wearing spectacles made of broken glass. As these slums are increasing like the Dooms’ Day Disaster and one day these slum areas will also get a mention on the map. it is very difficult for such kids to escape from them.

Poem Stanza- IV	Difficult word meaning
Unless, governor, inspector, visitor, This map becomes their window and these windows That shut upon their lives like catacombs, Break O break open till they break the town And show the children to 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.	Catacombs: tomb, cemetery     Azure: deep blue White : Pages of book, Green : Nature
Literary devices Metaphor: books and nature are expressed in form of white and green leaves (the white green leaves open) Anaphora: Use of repeated words in two consecutive lines (Run azure. And Run naked)

It is the urge of the poet through these lines that the government should take notice of the problems being faced by these slum area children. He wishes to change the life of these kids and make them realize the map of the world and its beautiful aspects. The need is to provide them resources to help these kids in fulfilling their dreams. Then only they will be saved from fog and live in azure sky, thus the poet conveys that these children could be taken away from the darkness of the slums to a bright future. The poet wishes that these children should be provided the chances to experience the sands He wants these kids to experience the beauty of nature and then they will be eager to learn or read books. They will then go through the white and green leaves. Here white leaves depict books and green leaves depict nature. This way they will be able to paint a bright future for them.

The poet concludes the poem on the positive belief that people who are ignited by the spirit of knowledge and learning are the ones who create history. It is the moral responsibility of all the people to contribute for the social equality and education to all for a better world.

Textual Question and Answers :

(a) The tall girl with her head “weighed down” means

Ans : The girl is poor and ill.

(b) The paper seeming boy with rat’s eyes means the boy is

Ans : Thin, hungry and weak

(c) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means the boy

Ans : has an inherited disability

(d) His eyes live in a dream, A squirrel’s game, in the tree room other than this means the boy is

Ans : Distracted from the lesson

(e) The children’s faces are compared to ‘rootless weeds’ this means they

Ans : Are wasters

 

Q2- What do you think is the color of ‘sour cream’? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls?

Ans : The walls of the slum area classroom is pale and dull colour. The walls have not been pained for a very long time thus they were giving a shabby look to the class. 

Q3- The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of ‘Shakespeare’, ‘buildings with domes’, ‘world maps’ and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children?

Ans : The various pictures on the walls of the classroom are the epitome of education, natural beauty and beautiful presentation of the world. In contrast to them the world of the slum children is bleak, foggy and dim. The intellectuals have been considered to be wicked here and the map is a bad example because both of them are irrelevant to them. The map doesn’t show slum area on it and the flowery valley is out of reach for these children. 

Q4- What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?

Ans : The poet urged in the concluding stanza of the poem that the governor, inspector and visitors to visit the school and take note of the filthy condition of the slum area children. He urged them to make necessary arrangements for the children to receive good education and chance to see the beautiful nature. Only then they will make their future bright as the sun.

Ques appeared in the CBSE Papers :

Q.1  Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow :      CBSE AI 2015

On their slag heap, these children

Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel

With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

a) Who are these children ?

b) What is their slag heap ?

c) Why are their bones peeping thorough their skins ?

d) What does ‘with mended glass’ mean ?

Ans : (a) – the poor / impoverished children of the slums.

 (b) – slum in which they are living / waste material heap / unwanted.

 (c) – physically weak / malnourished / impoverished.

 (d) – too poor to afford spectacles / shattering of dreams.

 

Q.2  How is ‘Shakespeare wicked and the map a bad example’ for the children of the school in a slum?  CBSE AI 2016

Ans :– both represent a beautiful world and high values which slum children have never experienced

– slum children cannot relate to them

– tempt them to steal

(any 2)

 

Q. 3  Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow : CBSE AI 2017

        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.

a) Why is the class dim ?

b) How is the young child different from other ?

c) What is he doing ?

d) What is a tree room ?

Ans :a) pathetic condition of classroom (in slums)/ symbolic of dullness / slum drudgery/ lack of light/ electricity. (any one)

b) sweet / loving / lost in his dreams/ no visible impact of poverty / hope in his eyes/ escaping the grim reality / positive (any one)

c) dreaming (of beautiful world / of squirrel’s game)

d) squirrel’s hole / a dwelling place in the tree, a plaything

 

Q. 4 Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow : CBSE AI 2018

On their slag heap, these children

Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel

With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

a) Name the poem and the poet.

b) Explain ‘slag heap’

c) What future await these children ?

d) Name the figure of speech used in the third line ?

Ans :a) An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum; Stephen Spender      

b) refers to garbage dump, mound of industrial waste/ slum

c) dark/bleak/dismal/hopeless/painted with fog/miserable  

d) simile/alliteration                                               

 

Q. 5 Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow : CBSE AI 2019 1-1-1

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.

i) Who is the unlucky heir ?

ii) What has he inherited ?

iii) Who is sitting at the back of the dim class ?

iv) How is he different from rest of the class ?

Ans : (i) boy with stunted growth / twisted bones / reciting lessons from his desk

(ii) Stunted growth / gnarled disease / twisted bones

(iii) Sweet young boy, unnoted / dreamy

(iv) His eyes live in a dream / escapes into the world of squirrels’ game, in tree room / day dreaming / lost in his thoughts

 

Q. 6 Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow :  CBSE AI 2019 1-4-1

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

a)   Name the poem and poet.

b)  Which image is used to describe the poverty of these children ?

c)   Which image is used to describe the poverty of these children ?

d)  What sort of life do these children lead ?

Ans : (a) An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum by Stephen Spender.

 (b) skins peeped through by bones / spectacles of steel with mended glass

(c) hunger and poverty / diseased / unkempt / malnourished / dark, bleak, hopeless, estined to live and die in the slum

(d) Simile / Alliteration - like bottle bits on stone

 

Q. 7 Read the extract given below & ans. the questions that follow :  CBSE AI 2019 1-5-1

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 far from rivers, capes, and stars of words.

a)   Who are these children?

b)  What future do these children have I n store for themselves ?

c)   What does ‘lead sky’ symbolize ?

d)  What facilities are these children deprived of ?

Ans : a) The children from the elementary school classroom in a slum/ slum children/ poor children/ deprived children

b) bleak / dark /uncertain/ without hope/ unclear

c) Symbolizes pathetic condition/miserable condition / poverty stricken condition

d) Proper education/ respectable life/opportunities/ health/ energy/ vigour