- Annotations
1. In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out
Poem and Poet: These lines are taken from the poem TELEVISION, written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’. It is a stinging satire on Television.
Context and Meaning: In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modern invention the television set has done to children. He points out that watching TV has become a craze in modern time. Children of today spend hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. They are unable to take the eyes off the screen. They are fascinated and intoxicated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. They laze around in front of the television and gape at the screen. They lose the capacity to think. It also prevents them from using their imagination in a creative way.
Critical comment: The poet bemoans the fact and feels that parents should encourage children to read books instead of watching TV. The poet uses rhyming couplets. The use of verbs like ‘loll’, ‘pop’ and lounge aptly describe the postures adopted by children while watching television.
2. they sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotized by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Poem and Poet: These lines are taken from the poem TELEVISION, written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’. It is a stinging satire on Television.
Context and Meaning: In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modern invention the television set has done to children. He points out that watching TV has become a craze in modern time. Children of today spend hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. They are unable to take the eyes off the screen. They are fascinated and intoxicated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. They laze around in front of the television and gape at the screen. They lose the capacity to think. It also prevents them from using their imagination in a creative way. They behave like zombies, and have no control over their minds.
Critical comment: Children sit in front of the TV for hours together. They become dull. They don’t have any physical activity. TV hypnotized them. They are I such a state that they would do what all that is telecasted on TV. They watch horrid, repulsive, useless programmes on TV.
3. It rots the sense in the head!
It kills imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
Poem and Poet: These lines are taken from the poem TELEVISION, written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’ It is a stinging satire on Television.
Context and Meaning: In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modern invention the television set has done to children. He points out that watching TV has become a craze in modern time. Children of today spend hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. They are unable to take the eyes off the screen. They are fascinated and intoxicated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. They lose the capacity to think. It also prevents them from using their imagination in a creative way. They behave like zombies, and have no control over their minds. Their minds get saturated with the nonsense that they see on the screen.
Critical comment: The poet repeatedly emphasizes the ill effects of watching TV. Children slowly lose their innate intelligence and individuality. Their brains get cluttered and rusted with junk. In the past children read books and were instantly transported to a land of fantasy. Their imagination would be stimulated and their mind would be active. But today TV has killed the habit of reading books.
4. So please. Oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Poem and Poet: These lines are taken from the poem TELEVISION, written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’ It is a stinging satire on Television.
Context and Meaning: In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modern invention the television set has done to children. He points out that watching TV has become a craze in modern time. Children of today spend hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. They are unable to take the eyes off the screen. They are fascinated and intoxicated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. They lose the capacity to think. It also prevents them from using their imagination in a creative way. They behave like zombies, and have no control over their minds. Their minds get saturated with the nonsense that they see on the screen.
Critical comment: At the end of the poem, therefore, the poet exhorts parents to throw away their TV sets at once. He begs them to replace the TV stand with a bookshelf. The habit of reading books should be inculcated once more in children. Children may initially protest but soon they will discover the joys of reading.
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Questions & Answers
1. Describe how children spent their leisure time in the past and how they spend it now.
The poem TELEVISION is written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’ It is a stinging satire on Television. In this poem Roald Dahl points out how TV crushes the creativity and spontaneity of children. He laments that children do not read books any more. He reflects with nostalgia on olden days when children eagerly immersed themselves in books.
In the past reading was the main activity and hobby of children books would lie scattered in every nook and corner of the house. Children read books with enthusiasm and keen interest. They would be transported at once to a land of fantasy. Their imagination would be stimulated and their mind would be active.
With the advent of TV, however, a marked change can be seen in children. The child of today spends hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. He does nothing else all day. He is fascinated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. He loses the capacity to think. He behaves like a zombie, as though he no longer has control over his mind. Stuck to the sofa all day, the child does not participate in games or physical activities. He slowly loses the ability to understand and respond to the environment around him. His brain gets cluttered and rusted with the junk he sees on TV.
2. How television kill one’s imagination?
The poem TELEVISION is written by ROALD DAHL, a British novelist, short story writer and a poet. It is taken from his collection ‘Revolting Rhymes’ It is a stinging satire on Television. In this poem Roald Dahl points out how TV crushes the creativity and spontaneity of children. He laments that children do not read books any more. He reflects with nostalgia on olden days when children eagerly immersed themselves in books.
The child of today spends hours together in front of the ‘idiot box’. He does nothing else all day. He is fascinated and intoxicated by the meaningless entertainment that is churned out on TV. He loses the capacity to think. He behaves like a zombie, as though he no longer has control over his mind. The child does not participate in games or physical activities. He slowly loses the ability to understand and respond to the environment around him. His brain gets cluttered and rusted with the junk he sees on TV. In the past children read books and were instantly transported to a land of fantasy. Their imagination would be stimulated and their mind would be active. But today TV has killed the habit of reading books. As a result, the child has lost his individuality and creativity.
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