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  • 08 Eng CH 1 Poem The Lost Dances of Cranes

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    The poem addresses the absence of cranes from their former habitat. It mourns that the birds no longer perform their elegant mating dances in the marshy grounds, as those areas have been replaced with construction sites and mechanical cranes used for building. Only a ghostly memory remains of the cranes' graceful movements. These mechanical cranes now occupy the same fields, their arms swinging to transfer building materials in a dance of destruction that has replaced the cranes' dance of procreation. While people now watch videos of cranes and appreciate nature, they are unaware that their destruction of the natural habitat is responsible for limiting such experiences to the virtual world alone.

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    08 ENG CH 1 POEM THE LOST DANCES OF CRANES

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    The poem addresses the absence of cranes from their former habitat. It mourns that the birds no longer perform their elegant mating dances in the marshy grounds, as those areas have been replaced with construction sites and mechanical cranes used for building. Only a ghostly memory remains of the cranes' graceful movements. These mechanical cranes now occupy the same fields, their arms swinging to transfer building materials in a dance of destruction that has replaced the cranes' dance of procreation. While people now watch videos of cranes and appreciate nature, they are unaware that their destruction of the natural habitat is responsible for limiting such experiences to the virtual world alone.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    1K views4 pages

    08 Eng CH 1 Poem The Lost Dances of Cranes

    Uploaded by

    acl
    The poem addresses the absence of cranes from their former habitat. It mourns that the birds no longer perform their elegant mating dances in the marshy grounds, as those areas have been replaced with construction sites and mechanical cranes used for building. Only a ghostly memory remains of the cranes' graceful movements. These mechanical cranes now occupy the same fields, their arms swinging to transfer building materials in a dance of destruction that has replaced the cranes' dance of procreation. While people now watch videos of cranes and appreciate nature, they are unaware that their destruction of the natural habitat is responsible for limiting such experiences to the virtual world alone.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    of 4

    THE LOST DANCES OF CRANES

    Learning outcomes
    By the end of the poem, students will be able to:
    ● recognise a poem dealing with a grave, relevant environmental issue.
    ● infer the irony in the situation.
    ● note the implications in the title.
    ● examine the reality of the current situation.
    ● note the sound-patterns.

    Poem summary:
    Addressing cranes, the speaker in the poem mourns the absence of the water-birds on construction
    sites that have taken over their marshy grounds, equipping it with mechanical cranes used in building
    high-rise apartment blocks. The birds no longer do their elegant mating dances on their fields; only the
    ghostly memory of their graceful movements remain. Those cranes have been replaced by cranes of a
    different kind—metal cranes swinging their arms to shift building materials. The dance of the birds was
    for procreation while the dance of the metal cranes is for the destruction of their natural habitat, only
    to erect buildings. Today, people in modern cities watch videos of cranes doing their mating dance
    and appreciate Nature, without realising that we have destroyed these graceful birds. Nothing is being
    done to restore Nature and as such, creation, to its pristine beauty.

    Pre-reading
    1. What image comes to your mind as you read the title of the poem?
    2. If there is a pun on the word, crane, what could be the similarity in their dance?
    3. What would be the difference between the two types of cranes?
    4. What do you think, would The Lost Dances refer to?

    Understanding the Poem usurped their place? (The mechanical cranes used in
    Read the poem. / Play the audio from the Smart Book. constructing new buildings.) Why are the mechanical
    cranes described as dancing? (The cranes seem as
    Ask students: if they are dancing with their slender arms swinging
    about while transferring building materials.) Today,
    Who is the speaker addressing in the poem? (The how can we get to see the beautiful birds dancing?
    water birds known as cranes) Why does she refer (Only by watching old grainy videos) When do
    to their dance as ghostly? (They no longer dance cranes dance? (The male cranes dance during the
    in that place as they used to; only their memory mating season to attract the females.) What is the
    remains.) Which cranes, of a different kind, have

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    irony in the last verse? (The irony is that people ● Find out the damage done to the birds and
    appreciate the dance of the cranes, watching videos animals in the area and what has been done to
    and marvelling at the wonders of the natural world, reverse the damage.
    yet, are not conscious of the fact that we have been ● Share your inputs with the class. You can use
    responsible for the destruction of the natural habitat. pictures, newspaper cuttings and other aids.
    We do not even realise that we have to do something
    proactive to restore nature, instead of merely Take a joint decision to take an active interest in
    watching it on videos.) environmental issues.

    Discuss: Appreciating the Poem

    How does the poet challenge the reader of this Consonance: Repetition of /s/ in Lost, Dances,
    poem? (The poet implicitly challenges its readers to Cranes, ghosts, dance, cranes, dance …
    do something besides watching television about the Alliteration: Repetition of initial /w/ in will watch;
    losses of the natural world. She tries to sensitise her wonders-world
    readers to do something to revive what has been lost.)
    Pun: Cranes
    What is the significance of the title? (Through the
    Metaphor: The movement of the long arms of the
    title, the poet signals the readers that the poem is
    mechanical cranes compared to the mating dance
    about something from the past that is no longer
    of the water-birds.
    available in the present.)
    Contrast: The dance of the bird-cranes for
    Post-reading procreation with the dance of the mechanical
    Group work cranes for their destruction.
    ● Find out about a natural sanctuary in your Irony: People responsible for the destruction of
    vicinity that has been developed into a the environment mourn its loss without doing
    settlement for people. anything to restore it.

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    QUESTION BANK WITH ANSWER KEY

    THE LOST DANCES OF CRANES


    Answer in detail. (Think and answer)
    How does the speaker express her displeasure about the extinction of a past glory in the world
    around her?
    Answer: From the beginning, the poet signals that there are some beautiful things of the past that
    are no longer available in the present. In the past, the dance of the beautiful crane used to enchant
    those who could witness it. Now, in the same fields, one sees only the mechanical crane occupying
    a large area and only the movement of the crane machine can be seen now. The speaker seems to
    indicate that the near extinction of cranes is due to man’s desire to build structures on the very home
    of the cranes, namely the wetlands where the cranes could survive. She feels all that remains of the
    beautiful crane is only in the form of video footage or nature documentaries. People do not seem to
    realise that they are poor substitutes for the wonders the world once held.

    STUDENTS’ BOOK ANSWER KEY

    THE LOST DANCE OF CRANES

    Understanding the Poem


    A. 1. The speaker is addressing the cranes. The word ‘ghosts’ in the second line indicates that they are
    already dead.
    2. The two dances refer to the dance of the birds that could once be seen in the fields and the dance
    of the urban machines that are used in constructing cities. The birds’ dance represents the beauty
    of nature while the machines represent the destruction of this beauty.
    3. ‘Fading crackle of energy’ and ‘some grainy video footage’ is all that is left of the cranes. The words,
    ‘all that remains’ indicates that very little is left of the cranes, and the words ‘fading’ and ‘grainy’ tell
    us that those remains are in very poor condition.
    4. People in the ‘new cities’ view / listen to the poor quality audio/video material. They are seen to
    marvel at the energetic mating dance of the cranes. But this image is one of the past when the
    birds used to arrive in due season to breed.
    Their reaction is one of joy and wonder which is in sharp contrast to the poet’s reaction.
    The poet is warning the readers about a bleak future The image of the blurred video-clipping of
    the dance of the cranes is a sad reminder of the natural pattern of life that we are sacrificing to
    our misplaced zeal for urbanisation.
    B. 1. Yes, the city-dwellers also appreciate the beauty of nature.
    2. Although the city-dwellers marvel at nature, their fascination remains superficial and they do not
    feel as connected to nature as the speaker because they have not had a firsthand experience with
    birds. They may miss the videos but will not be as deeply affected as the speaker.

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    Appreciating the Poem
    1. b. a sense of loss.
    ‘All that remain’; ‘wonders the world once held’
    2. ‘fading crackle’, ‘grainy video footage’, ‘wonders the world once held’

    Going Further
    Free response.

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    New Gulmohar_TRP 08_English.indb 16 16-Dec-19 4:55:13 PM

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