Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Children’s Hour Questions & Answers.
This poem is written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Festival Of Eid, Little Nino And My Secret Beard and The Great Indian Bustard so, you can check these posts as well.
The Children’s Hour Questions & Answers
Question 1: Write True or False:
(a) The poem is set in the early morning hours – False
(b) The poet’s daughters are named Alice, Allegra and Edith – True
(c) The children are quite afraid of their strict father – False
(d) The father’s heart is full of love and affection for his children – True
(e) The poem paints a dark and gloomy picture of the family’s life – False
Question 2: What is the Children’s Hour?
Answer: It is the time between the dark and daylight, when the night is about to set in and day’s work comes to an end.
Question 3: Who invades the poet’s castle?
Answer: The poet’s three daughters Alice, Allegra and Edith invade his castle.
Question 4: How do the invaders enter the castle?
Answer: The intruders rush from the stairway, raid suddenly from the hall and enter through three doors that have been left unguarded.
Question 5: Where does the poet wish to keep the intruders forever?
Answer: The poet wishes to keep the intruders (his three daughters) forever in the dungeon in the round tower of his heart.
Question 6: What is the mood in the first stanza? Is there a shift in the mood in the second and third stanzas? Explain.
Answer: The first stanza gives the description of the time known as Children’s Hour which is the time between the dark and daylight, when the night is about to set in and day’s work comes to an end. In the second and third stanzas, the poet expresses his eagerness to spend time with his daughters. The shift in the mood is from the description of the Children’s Hour to its commencement.
Question 7: What do the invaders do to the poet?
Answer: The invaders enter the castle through the doors left unguarded. They climb up into his lap over the arms and the back of his chair. They surround him, devour him with kisses and encircle him in their arms so that there is no chance of escape.
Question 8: Read and answer the questions:
(a) Who are the blue-eyed banditti referred to here?
Answer: The poet’s three daughters Alice, Allegra and Edith are referred to here.
(b) How have they scaled the wall?
Answer: They had scaled the wall by coming in through three doors left unguarded.
(c) What does the poet wish to convey through the last two lines of the stanza?
Answer: The poet wants to convey that he is aware of all the tricks employed by his daughters to come to him and he is quite prepared to welcome them in his castle as it is their time.
Question 9: Describe how the poet brings out his affection for the three invaders. Mention the images he uses.
Answer: The poet is attuned to the sound of their coming. They climb into his lap over the arms and back of his chair and do not allow him to escape. They devour him with kisses. He calls them blue eyed bandits who have dared to invade his fortress by scaling the wall. He wants to hold them fast till the walls crumble to ruin. From their voice. he can say that Alice is grave, Allegra is merry and laughing and he is proud of Edith’s golden hair. All these reflect his unconditional love for his daughters.
Question 10: Read and answer the questions:
(a) Who will be kept ‘there’ forever?
Answer: The poet’s three daughters Alice, Allegra and Edith will be kept ‘there’ forever.
(b) What are the feelings of the speaker for the ones he wants to keep forever?
Answer: The poet is overcome by the feelings of deep affection and love for the ones he wants to keep forever.
(c) Explain the last two lines of the extract in your own words.
Answer: The poet says that he will never let his daughters get away but will keep them in his chamber of his heart till the day he crumbles to dust.
Question 11: Write two lines from the poem that reveals the father’s deep love for his children.
Answer: The two lines from the poem that reveals the father’s deep love for his children:
So, these were The Children’s Hour Questions & Answers.