CBSE Class 12 English An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum Notes Set B

About The Poet

Stephen Spender (1909-1995) was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and political discriminations, especially the class struggle in his work. His poems were often inspired by social protest.

Summary

The poem describes an elementary school in a slum. The children studying look pathetic. The children studying in the class are far away from the world which is filled with happiness, has bounties of nature and is filled with brighter aspects of life. The bodies of these children are withered and worn out like uprooted weeds. Their hair is unkempt and their faces are pale which clearly indicate their deprived and under-nourished condition. These children are stressed by the burden of their circumstances. They are exhausted both physically as well as emotionally. There is a tall girl in the class with her head weighed down. There is a skinny boy. His rat-like eyes give a frightening look. The only inheritance they have from their parents is disease and bad luck. One of them cannot even get up from his desk and recite a lesson. However, there is one little boy, sitting at the back of the class, who is younger than others. His eyes are filled with hope and a wish to play in the open. Apparently, gloom has still not enveloped him.

The off white and foul smelling walls of the classroom depict the donations given to the school. Besides, there are pictures of Shakespeare, of a cloudless daybreak of civilised cities having buildings with domes, of Tyrolese valley and of a big world map on the wall. However, none of these are of any help to these children living in slums. Their world comprises of only what they are able to see from the windows of their classroom. The view is full of despair where their future seems blurred. They are confined to the narrow streets of the slum that is far away from the open sky and rivers. The poet calls Shakespeare wicked. This is because he misleads the children.

The works of Shakespeare talks about beautiful world of ships, love and sun but all this is unreal for these children. He feels that it has a corrupting influence on these children and instigate them to steal and evade from their cramped hole. Their existence is indeed, very sad. These emaciated children are so thin that it gives an appearance of wearing skin. They have broken and mended glass in their spectacles. Their complete personality depicts deprivation. The poet shows his anger by saying that the map must have picture of huge slums rather than a world with scenic beauty something the slum children cannot relate with. He makes an appeal to the governor, inspector and visitor. He says that unless the world map becomes a window for these children to explore the outside world and the windows that shut them up from the rest of the world are broken, their future will remain the same as their present.

The poet appeals to help these children breakfree from their world which is confined in the slums. He wants that children should see the green fields and to give them freedom to make their own world with proper education and guidance. He believes when sun and hope is the language then only history is created. Similarly, to make their own bright future children need proper education and freedom from their own boundaries.