An Elementary Classroom in a Slum, Explanation, Line by Line,  Meaning of Difficult Words, English CBSE Class 12 NCERT Flamingo Poem 2

 An Elementary Classroom in a Slum, Explanation, Line by Line,  Meaning of Difficult Words, English CBSE Class 12 NCERT Flamingo Poem 2

AN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM IN A SLUM

(Explanation and meaning of difficult word)

 

Author – Stephen Spenser

The poem describes scene of a classroom. Students of this school are from slum area.

Word	Meaning
Far far	Very far
Gusty	Strong and irregular
Gusty waves	Full of energy
Rootless	Without roots, Without foundation
Weeds	Unwanted
Torn	Improperly cut, Uncombed
Pallor	Pale face

Poetic Devices
Far far	Repetition
Like rootless weeds	Simile

Very far from being full of energy, their faces are without any energy and vigour. These children appear as if they do not have any roots or values. It looks like they are unwanted in the society. Their hair are improperly cut and are not combed. Their hair are falling on their pale looking weak faces.

Most of the students have accepted their present conditions. They do not have any desire to move ahead.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Weighed down	Keeping low

Poetic Devices
Paper seeming boy	Metaphor
Rat’s eyes	Metaphor

In the class there is a girl who is tall. Her head is bowed down due to burden of poverty. She is looking sick and tired. A boy is as thin and as white as a paper. His eyes are like eyes of a rat. [Means her eyes are greedy and projecting more than normal.] Because he is very thin his eyes look projecting more than normal.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Stunted	Underdeveloped
Heir	Inheritor, Legal owner of property after someone’s death
Reciting	Speaking repeatedly, Showing
Gnarled	Rough, Twisted

One boy in the class is underdeveloped. His father had rough and twisted bones. The boy has inherited this disease from his father. This is visible from his bones which are also twisted. This boy is reading his lessons sitting at his desk.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Dim	Having less light
Unnoted	Unnoticed

One boy is sitting at the back bench. The class room does not have adequate light hence it is called a dim class room. The boy is young and charming. Nobody has noticed him.

The class room has been referred as dim to indicate lack or absence of opportunity for these students.

 

 

Poetic Devices
In tree room, other than this	Alliteration

He does not seem to be noting down anything from the lesson taught in the class. He has dreams in his eyes. His attention is towards a tree outside the class. A squirrel is playing a game in the hole of the tree.

This hole in the stem of a tree, where squirrel lives, is referred as tree hole. Reference to squirrel game is made to indicate that this boys is playful.

The attention of the boy is to the world outside the class room. Means that he is having dreams of playing in the open world. He wants to move away from the restrictions imposed by his socio-economic conditions.

 

Word	Meaning
Sour cream	Dull yellow colour
Dawn	Early morning

Poetic Devices
at dawn, civilized dome	Alliteration

Colour of walls of the class room is dull yellow. Through donations some posters have been put on the walls. One of the posters is of great scholar Shakespeare. The Shakespeare’s poster represents education. There is another poster of the Sun rising on cloudless morning. The poster of rising Sun represents light and hope all over the world. Together, education, light and hope means culture and civilization.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Belled	It refers to church
Flowery	Full of flowers

Poetic Devices
the world its world	Repetition

There is a poster of church. The word ‘belled’ refers to church – every church has a bell. There is poster of Tyrolese river valley which is full of flowers. There is a poster of map of the world. The map is described as open-handed because the world is open to everyone. The world gives opportunity to everyone who makes an attempt. Thus everyone can change one’s circumstances and create one’s own world.

 

 

But for these children, their world is within the window of the class. Meaning that their world is limited to the place within which they live. It is confined to their slums and the classroom. The map of the world does not have any meaning to them. Because they are not able to move beyond their present conditions.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Cape	Clothes, Shawl

Poetic Devices
Narrow street	Metaphor
Sealed in with lead a sky	Metaphor
Stars of wisdom	Metaphor
Far far from rivers	Repetition

Their future is not clear, it is hazy. As fog makes visibility poor, their socio-economic conditions have made their future bleak. Their life is limited to their slums. This limited space does not have any opportunity to improve themselves. So ‘narrow street’ has been used metaphorically to indicate limits of their life. Lead is a metal used for sealing and plugging an opening. So ‘sealed in with a lead sky’ has been metaphorically used to indicate absence of any opportunity. The river symbolizes continuous movement. Capes symbolizes good clothes. Stars of words symbolizes good education. These children are stagnant, do not have access to decent clothes and good education.

 

Word	Meaning
Wicked	Evil, Wrong, Bad
Tempting	Appealing, Inviting

Poetic Devices
Ships and Sun	Alliteration
Ships and Sun and love	Repetition

These children are not able to obtain any benefit from education. Therefore they do not have any regards for Shakespeare. To them Shakespeare is a wicked person. Their life is limited to their slums. Hence map which represents movement and opportunity is not a correct example for them. The posters of ship and Sun indicate travel, brightness and acceptance. They do not have access to any of these aspects. So in order to obtain acceptance, they engage themselves in stealing.

Word	Meaning
Slyly	Deceitfully, Cunningly, Secretly
Cramped	Small, Overcrowded

Poetic Devices
Cramped holes	Metaphor
Endless night	Metaphor

Their life is limited to small and over-crowded houses. Their house is small and many people live in one house. Their life does not give then any opportunity. So poet says that it is deceiving them. Their life is hazy (meaning unclear). The darkness in their life is never ending. ‘Endless night’ has been metaphorically used to indicate absence of happiness and opportunity.

 

Word	Meaning
Slag	Rejects, Waste
Peeped through	Visible
Mended	Repaired
Bits	Pieces

Poetic Devices
Like bottle bits on stones	Simile

These children live on heaps of rejects and waste. Meaning that they live in dirty environment. They are so weak that their bones are visible through their skins. Meaning that they do not get sufficient food. Their specs are made of steel. It is fitted with repaired glass. So it looks like made by joining many pieces broken glass. Meaning that they are not able to see the outside world. There are several restriction.

Word	Meaning
Blot	Dishonour, Disgrace
Doom	Terrible fate, Misfortune

Poetic Devices
As big as doom	Metaphor
All of their time	Alliteration
Space are foggy slums	Alliteration

Their life is forever limited to their dirty slums. The area around them is filled with bigger slums. So alround them they have slums. It is a misfortune that they get to see only slums around them. These indicate that escape from their present conditions is not possible.

Unless the government, authorities and public does something good for them, their outlook will remain restricted to their present surroundings. These authorities should do the required so that the maps and posters put up on the wall become the world of these children also. Meaning that they should be able to align and understand the world presented through these posters.

The word ‘governor’ is used for government. The word ‘inspector’ is used for authorities. The word ‘visitor’ is used for common people or public.

Word	Meaning
Catacomb	Underground burial, Labyrinth

Poetic Devices
That shut upon their lives like catacombs	Alliteration
like catacombs	Simile
Break O break open till they break open	Repetition

And these windows of opportunities are completely shut for them. Their hopes are buried in an underground burial. The word ‘catacomb’ is used to indicate the difficulty in changing the present situation. These authorities must break the windows (change the situation) till these children are able to move beyond their slums. Her the word ‘town’ is used to indicate the world beyond their slums.

Word	Meaning
Azure	Blue colour

These children should be able to see the green fields. Their world should consist of bright blue colour of sky and golden colour of sands. ‘Run azure on gold sand’ means to run under the open blue sky on golden sand. Words ‘green fields’, ‘run azure’ and ‘gold sands’ have been used to indicate a new open world which is full of opportunities.

 

 

Poetic Devices
And let their tongues	Alliteration

Here the word ‘tongue’ means freedom of expression. ‘White’ means books. ‘Green leaves’ means unpolluted environment.

The poet says that these children should be provided with freedom of expression, books to read and a clean environment. These would open up new opportunities and a new dimension to them.

The word ‘Sun’ symbolizes light and growth. The poet says that those who believe in education and growth, can themselves create history.

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Important Links
An Elementary School Classroom – Textbook Q&A	An Elementary School Classroom – Extra Q&A
My Mother at 66 – Explanation	Keeping Quiet – Explanation
My Mother at 66 – Textbook Q&A	Keeping Quiet – Textbook Q&A
My Mother at 66 – Extra Q&A	Keeping Quiet – Extra Q&A
Passages	Note Making
Letter Writing	Notice Writing
Advertisement Writing	Article Writing
Report Writing