Television By Robert Dahl Summary

Robert Dahl’s Television is a poem which concerns on the effects of television for children nowadays. It mainly argued about how bad television is for kids and it hinders their imagination which parents need to be more alert on its long term consequences. Dahl also highlighted on the importance of reading and literature in a child’s life as it will influence their cognitive ability when they grow up. Relating with this poem, few advantages and disadvantages on children watching television will also be discussed upon with its respective evidences from previous and current studies of this activity. Besides, Islamic points of view will also be centred as what does this activity stands in our society today.

Starting with the first part of the poem, the poet stresses on the greatest lesson that most people learnt today, which is not to let the children indulge themselves or be near to television as Dahl also suggested that parents should not set it up at home. He talked upon a scene of children sitting and watching television as a common sight at most houses today, even mentioned on his own experience of visiting someone else’s place whereby he witnessed on how their kids were being obsessed in watching what was on the screen. The poet acknowledged that children will neither going to jump around and fight each other, nor disturb parents in house chores, but did one even think about how this habit will have such a negative effect on them later on? It will deter their maturity in