September 12

ELA A10 Sept 12/16 Poetry Activity C – “Six Blind Men of Hindostan” visuals

Poetry is intended to elicit many ideas and senses in the reader/listener, but some are constructed to activate one sense over another. The following poem easily does this with visualizing. This poem also is narrative, meaning it tells a story that progresses.

  1. Read the poem and discuss each stanza to ensure you understand the poem’s larger meaning.
  2. For this task, you will read the poem and decide with your partner on an image that would suit each stanza’s message.
  3. You can choose what program/app to use to put these images into order, like Google Slides.
  4. Include a type of transition between slides, but be mindful of your use of class time.
  5. Publish/share your Visual Slideshow as a comment below. You can add it to your own individual blogs as well.

 

The Six Blind Men of Hindostan

It was six men of Hindostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant
(Though all of them were blind)
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

 

The first approached the elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl,
“Bless me, it seems the elephant
Is very like a wall.”

The second, feeling his tusk
Cried, “Ho! What have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp
To me ‘tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear.”

The third approached the animal
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Then boldly up and spake;
“I see”, quoth he, “The elephant
Is very like an snake.”

 

The fourth stretched out his eager hand
And felt about the knee;
“What most this might beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“Tis clear enough the elephant
Is very like a tree.”

 

The fifth who chanced to touch the ear
Said, “Even the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
Is very like a fan.”

 

The six no sooner had begun
About the beast to gropeTha
n, seizing on the swinging tail,
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” cried he, “the elephant
Is very like a rope.”

 

And so these men of Hindostan,
Disputed loud and long,
Each with his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And each was partly wrong.

Category: ELA A10 | LEAVE A COMMENT