‘Television’ poem by Roald Dahl: Critic / Analysis

Television – Poem by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
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.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink —
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
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.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

‘Television’ Poem: Critic

Life in the modern world has gotten much faster, and much more dependent on gadgets. While parents realize the importance of keeping their children away from gadgets like television, at times, they are also dependent on such gadgets to keep their kids occupied, while they go about completing the household chores, or their office work, which many parents bring home nowadays.
Roald Dahl, in his poem ‘Television’, has listed several benefits of chucking the television in favour of reading books. However, getting rid of the television is not so easy in today’s life, as even parents want their daily dose of entertainment after a hard day’s life.
Besides, the television is gradually getting replaced with the smart phone. It means those parents who never bought a television at home, now face the problem of making their kids stay away from mobile phones. And parents, being dependent on mobile phones to some extent, cannot get rid of phones as easily as a television.
While, gadgets like mobile phones and tablets can be used in a constructive manner, most kids use it to play games, and to watch movies.
A mobile phone is also very portable, which is another problem. Just imagine you are out on a vacation with your kids, and the kids, instead of enjoying the scenery outside while travelling, spend time on the mobile phone.
It looks as if parents will need to put in extra efforts to wean their kids away from televisions and mobile phones, and to get them to read books. However, Dahl says it’s worth the effort as the benefits of reading books are immense. Dahl also feels that children will desire to read more and more books once they get started & will never look back at the television. And when they grow up, the kids will thank their parents for introducing them to books.

‘Television’ Poem: Analysis

Parents and teachers would readily agree with Roald Dahl’s views on the ill-effects of watching television, especially among children. Children glued to the television for hours, lose their ability to think, become lazy and also unhealthy. More importantly, it becomes sort of an addiction, and they get irritated and angered when you turn off the television.
With advancements in technology, the smart-phone has now become the new television, and you can see kids staring at the mobile phone for hours, especially during holidays. In the case of television, parents could at least choose not to have one at home, but it’s not the case with mobile phones, as parents are dependent on phones.
Mobile phones can also be used a useful learning tool, but what is being observed is that kids are using it to play games, to watch movies, and are developing an addiction for it. Even on vacations, kids spend time on the mobile phone, instead of appreciating the scenery outside while travelling.
For long parents and teachers have been echoing Dahl’s views that children lose their imaginative powers and their ability to think by spending a lot of time in front of the television. Reading books is a much better alternative with life-long benefits.
Parents today are busy than ever before, and to some extent, even they depend on gadgets like television and phones to keep their kids occupied, while they go about completing their chores. So it will take extra efforts on the part of parents to get their children interested in reading books. But once the kids get started they would want to read more and more stories of fantasy, adventure with many interesting characters.
Parents won’t have to worry about keeping their children entertained and occupied; the books will take care of that. And when the kids grow up, they will thank their parents for introducing them to books.

studymumbai

StudyMumbai.com is an educational resource for students, parents, and teachers, with special focus on Mumbai. Our staff includes educators with several years of experience. Our mission is to simplify learning and to provide free education. Read more about us.