SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS
(FIRST FLIGHT)
CHAPTER : THE BALL POEM
The Ball Poem
Question and Answers
CLASS 10 ENGLISH FIRST FLIGHT CHAPTER 5 : THE BALL POEM
Central Idea of the Poem
The
poet, John Berryman in The Ball Poem’ describes the grief of a boy over the
loss of his ball. With that loss he senses his first responsibility in a
materialistic world; where those whom you love and your worldly possessions will
not be with you forever. The poem shows how, all through your life, you will be
forced to do things that you don’t want to do and you will lose or have to give
up the things, that you love. But, despite this, you have to learn to stand up,
to be strong and get on with your life – no matter how much it hurts inside.
Because that is the only way you will survive. It thus, teaches us to learn to
accept and let go and not cling onto something that you can never have.
EXPLANATION OF THE POEM
Stanza
1
What
is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What,
what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily
bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily
over – there it is in the water!
No
use to say ‘O there are other balls’:
WORD MEANINGS
merrily – happily
‘O there are other balls’
– the words suggest that the loss is not important enough to worry about
Explanation – The poem is about
a little boy. For the first time in his young life, he is learning what it is
like to experience grief at the loss of a much loved possession, that is, his
ball. The ball is here symbolic of the sweet memories of his childhood. The boy
loses his ball and watches it bouncing down the street into the water. To us,
the loss of a ball is of minor consequence but to the little boy, it was a
valued possession. The poet here, deters himself from saying that there are
other balls because the boy wants the same ball. The ball had been with him for
a long time and it was linked to the memories of the days when he played with
it.
Stanza
2
An
ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As
he stands rigid, trembling, staring down
All
his young days into the harbour where
His
ball went. I would not intrude on him;
A
dime, another ball, is worthless.
WORD MEANINGS
ultimate – final
shaking grief – sadness
which greatly affects the boy
rigid – stiff
trembling – shivering
harbour – place
intrude on – here, to
enter a situation where one is not welcome
a dime – ten cents (U.S)
Explanation – When the young boy
loses his ball, it bounces away and lands in the harbour. The boy is very much
troubled at the loss of his ball and plunges into grief. He stands stiff and
trembling while staring at his ball. He is upset as he looks into the gloomy
water because he cannot find the ball. The boy is profoundly affected by the
loss of his ball because it has been with him for a long time. When the ball
bounces into the water, all his memories of the childhood days flashes in front
of him. This leads to a realisation that those moments would not come back,
just like the ball. Moreover, the poet says that he does not want to intervene
the boy’s thoughts as through this experience the boy will learn the meaning of
loss on his own. Further the poet doesn’t offer him money to buy another ball
because that would be worthless.
Stanza
3
…….Now
He senses first responsibility
In
a world of possessions. People will take
Balls,
balls will be lost always, little boy.
And
no one buys a ball back. Money is external.
WORD MEANINGS
possessions – something
that is owned or possessed
external – superficial,
extrinsic
Explanation – The boy is upset
when he looks into the gloomy water because he cannot find the ball. This is
when he gets his first sense of responsibility. The poet suggests that from the
loss of the ball, the boy is learning what it means to lose something in a
world of possessions, where he will lose things, will buy some more to replace
the ones lost, but would never be able to buy back the thing that he had lost.
In this poem, the boy’s ball personifies his young days and happy innocence. In
this world, people will take balls just as they will take away your innocence,
and force you to grow up. And once you lose this innocence, you can never get
it back. Balls will be lost always and no one buys a ball back.
The poet, thus, makes the boy understand about his responsibility as the loss
is immaterial. Money is external as it cannot buy memories, nor can it replace
the things that we love, the things that really matter.
Stanza
4
He
is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
This
epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing
what every man must one day know
And
most know many days, how to stand up.
WORD MEANINGS
desperate – hopeless
epistemology of loss –
understanding the nature of loss – what it me^ns to lose something
epistemology – The greek
word ‘episteme’ means ‘knowledge’ (it comes from a word meaning.’to understand,
to know’). Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge itself
Explanation – The poet suggests
that from the loss of the ball, the boy is learning how to stand up in a world
of possessions. The boy is learning what it means to lose something. The poet
says that knowing that every man has to stand up after such losses, the boy too
will learn how to stand up and leave the losses behind as he would have
understood the true meaning and nature of loss.
Poetic Devices Used in
the Poem
Blank
Verse
The
poem is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Consider the following lines
from the poem:
What
is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What,
what is he to do? 1 saw it go
Merrily
bouncing, down the street, and then Merrily over-there it is in the water!
Symbolism
The ball symbolises the
boys young and innocent days.
Repetition
What, what
Balls,
balls
Alliteration
What, what
Balls,
halls
buys
a hall hack
Thinking about the Poem
1. Does ‘dying’ really rhyme with ‘lion’? Can you say it in such a way
that it does?
Answer: No, ‘dying’ does not
rhyme with ‘lion’. It is for this reason that the poet has used ‘dyin’ so that
when we pronounce it, it rhymes with ‘lion’.
2.How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger?
When can you do so, according to him?
Answer : The poet suggests that
if a large and tawny beast in the jungle in the east advances towards us, then
it is an Asian lion. We can identify it when it roars at us while we are dying
with fear. When while roaming we come across a wild beast that is yellow in
colour with black stripes, it is a Bengal tiger. We can identify it when it
eats us.
3.Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are
spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?
Answer: No, the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are spelt incorrectly. The poet
has spelled them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of the poem. When
spelled this way, they rhyme with the first part of ‘leopard’, thus giving emphasis
to ‘leopard’ in each line.
4.Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is? It’s a friendly and strong hug —
such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are
thought to laugh, and crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow
their victims. Are there similar expressions and popular ideas about wild
animals in your own language(s)?
Answer: A ‘bearhug’ is the bear’s tight embrace. Hyenas never laugh. But
their faces look like that. Crocodiles do not weep but tears come when they
swallow their victims.
5. Look at the line “A novice might nonplus”. How would you write this
‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?
Answer : The line “A novice might
nonplus” can be correctly written as “A novice might be nonplussed”. The poet’s
incorrect line is better in the poem as it maintains the rhyme scheme of the
poem. By writing it incorrectly, ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’.
6.Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language,
either in English or in your own language(s)? Can you find examples of humorous
poems in your own language(s)?
Answer: Yes, many poets take
such liberties to create proper rhyming. These are for example : Kirk is used
for ‘church’ to rhyme with ‘work’. Ken is used for ‘see’ to rhyme with ‘pen’.
Summary of The Ball Poem
Once
a boy was playing with his ball. It was bouncing in the street up and down. The
boy was happily enjoying the game. While bouncing, suddenly it fell in the
water and was lost.
Without
the ball the boy became full of grief. The poet said and that there were other
balls. He could purchase another since it was not a great loss. There was no
need to worry. Since, the boy had that ball for a long time so he was deeply
grieved due to his attachment with it. It was linked to his memories. The poet
thinks that it is of no use to purchase another ball. He must feel his
responsibility of the loss.
The Ball Poem SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS
Extract Based Questions
(4 marks each)
Read
the following extracts and answer the questions/complete the sentences that
follow:
Question
1. What
is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What,
what is he to do ? I saw it go Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over-there it is in the water !
(a) The
boy has lost ………. .
(b) It
fell down …….. .
(c) At
the loss of his ball the boy felt ………. .
(d) The
boy saw the ball go.
Answer:
(1) to learn good habits.
(b)
Amanda’s mother.
(c)
straight.
(d)
Robin Klen.
Question
2. An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As he
stands rigid, trembling, staring down.
All his
young days in to the harbour where His ball bent I would not intrude on him,
A dime
another ball, is worthless. Now He senses first responsibility
In a
words of possessions.
(a) The
boy is in grief because his ball has been …… .
(b) The
boy feels trouble and stands rigid because he is thinking about his ……. .
(c) The
poet does not offer to give him the new ball because he wants to teach him the
value of …….. .
(d) The
boy senses first responsibility in …….. .
Answer:
(a) lost
(b)
days when he was young.
(c)
responsibility
(d)
Words of possession
Question
3. His ball went. I would not intrude on him;
A dime,
another ball, is worthless. Now He senses first responsibility In a world of
possessions.
(a)
Where did the ball go ?
(b) The
poet does not want to interfere as he wants the child …….. .
(c)
This will help the child in understanding his ……. .
(d)
Giving another ball to the child is ……. .
Answer:
(a) The ball went into the water.
(b)
to learn to bear the loss.
(c)
responsibility.
(d)
Worthless.
Question
4. I would not intrude on him,
A dime,
another ball, is worthless. Now He sense first responsibility In a world of
possessions.
(a) Why
is another ball worthless for him ?
(b) The
loss of the ball teaches the boy …….. .
(c) ‘A
world of possessions’ means ……… .
(d) The
poet does not want to ……. .
Answer:
(a) Another ball is worthless for him because he wanted the one which has been
lost.
(b)
the sense of responsibility.
(c)
The world of materialism.
(d)
interfere on the child.
OR
(a) Who would not intrude ?
(b)
Whose eyes are desperate ?
(c) The
word “intrude” in the above given extract means ………. .
(d) The
poet senses.
Answer:
(a)
The poet would not intrude.
(b)
The boys eyes are desperate.
(c)
To go/interfere into something/matter forcefully.
(d)
a world of possession.
Question
5. The
epistemology of loss, how to stand up Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up.
(a) The boy has lost ……. .
(b) The
lost has taught the boy ……… .
(c) The
word ‘epistemology’ means …….. .
(d)
According to the poet every man.
Answer:
(a) his ball.
(b)
the sense of responsibility.
(c)
study of knowledge.
(d)
should know how to succeed.
Question
6. His
ball went. I would not intrude on him;
A dime,
another ball, is worthless, now He senses first responsibility in a worlds of
possessions.
(a)
These lines tell us that the boy …… .
(b) The
word ‘worthless’ tells us that …….. .
(c)
Losing the ball teaches the boy to ……. .
(d)
Giving another ball to the child is ……. .
Answer:
(a) is upset at losing his ball
(b)
the boy does not wish to have another ball
(c)
to become responsible
(d)
Worthless.
Short Answer Type
Questions
(30-40 words & 2
marks)
Question
1. What
is the deep meaning hidden in the poem “The Ball Poem ?
Answer: The deep meaning of the poem is that our
childhood can quickly fly as a ball is lost. Also me grow up unsuspect¬edly and
face hardships like loss.
Question
2. What is the boy’s state of mind at the loss
of his ball ?
Answer: The boy is very disturbed at the loss of his
ball. He keeps staring at the ball with his desperate eyes.
Question
3. Pick out the words that suggest that the boy
has not lost anything earlier.
Answer: The words that suggest that the boy has not
lost anything earlier are “He senses first responsibility in a world of
possessions.”
Long Answer Type
Question
(4 marks).
Question
1. Elaborate the idea that one should learn to
accept and let go and not stick to something that we can not have.
Answer: It is important for
everyone to experience to accept the loss and be bold and get on with life.
Staying strong is the only way to survive. One should understand that the past
is gone and will never came back. Sometimes loss helps us to grow up and we are
able to face hardships like loss. We also learn to accept and let go and do not
stick to something which we can not have.
The Ball Poem SEBA / SMEBA / NCERT CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS
Extract Based Questions
[3 Marks each]
Read
the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Question
1. What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do? I saw it go Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over – there it is in the water! No use to say – ‘O there are other
balls’:
(a) What has happened to the boy?
(b) Why
does the poet say ‘No use to say – ‘O there are other balls’?
(c)
Which word means ‘happily’?
(d)
Where did the ball go?
Answer:
(a) The boy was very sad as he had lost his ball.
(b)
The poet says so as the loss of the ball is of a major consequence to the boy.
(c) Merrily means happily.
(d)
The ball went to the water.
Question
2. An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy As he
stands rigid, trembling, staring down All his young days into the harbour where
His ball went. I would not intrude on him, A dlime, another ball, is worthless.
(a) Where had the boy’s ball gone?
(b) How
has the loss affected the boy?
(c) Why
was ‘he’ trembling, staring down?
(d)
What does the poet mean by ‘first responsibility’?
Answer:
(a) The boy’s ball went into the dark waters of the harbour.
(b)
The boy is very much troubled at the loss of his ball. He stands still,
trembling and staring at his ball.
(c)
He was trembling, staring down as he had lost his ball.
(d)
By ‘First responsibility’, he, means to look after his things properly.
Question
3. ……………Now
He
senses first responsibility
In a
world of possessions. People will take
Balls,
balls will be lost always, little boy.
And no
one buys a ball back. Money is external.
(a)
What does the boy understand?
(b)
What does the word ‘balls’ signify?
(c)
What is meant by the word ‘possessions’?
(d)
What does “In a world of possessions mean?”
Answer:
(a) The boy learns to grow up and understands his first responsibility.
(b)
‘Balls’ signify the boys’ innocence and happy young days.
(c)
‘Possessions’ means something that is owned or possessed.
(d)
It means that everybody loves to possess things or materials in their names.
Question
4. He is learning, well behind his desperate
eyes,
The
epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing
what every man must one day know
And
most know many days, how to stand up.
(a)
What is the boy learning?
(b) Why
are boy’s eyes desperate?
(c)
What do you mean by ‘epistemology of loss’?
(d)
What every man needs to know one day?
Answer:
(a) The boy is learning to cope up with the loss.
(b)
Boy’s eyes looks desperate as he is sad to see his ball gone forever.
(c)
‘Epistemology of loss’ means to understand the nature of loss.
(d)
Every man needs to know one day that loss may occur to him and he would have to
bear it up.
Short Answer Type
Questions
[2 Marks each]
Question
1. What
does John Berryman want to convey through this poem?
Answer: Poet, John Berryman
wants to convey the importance of loss and responsibility in life. We all
should learn our responsibility and how to cope up with the loss.
Question
2. How
does the boy feel at the loss of his ball?
Answer: The boy is very much
troubled at the loss of his ball. He experiences grief at the loss of his much
loved possession. Like a statue, he keeps staring at the ball with his
desperate eyes.
Question
3. Write
the sum and substance of the poem “The Ball Poem”.
Answer: In “The Ball Poem”,
Berryman tells us about how our childhood can quickly fly by, as quickly as a
ball is lost and how we sometimes unsuspectingly must grow up and face
hardships, like loss.
Question
4. “Money
is external”. What does the poet mean by this expression?
Answer: The poet makes the boy
understand about his responsibility as the loss is immaterial. Money is external
as it cannot buy memories, nor can it replace the things that we love, the
things that really matter.
Question
5. Why
does the poet think that it is useless to give the following suggestion to the
boy?
‘No use
to say- ‘O there are other balls’:
Answer: According to the poet,
it is useless to console the boy by saying that he can get another ball in
place of the lost one. The boy had a long association with the ball. It was,
thus, useless to give him such a suggestion because he wanted to get back the
ball that he had lost.
Question
6. Why
did the poet not offer the boy money to buy another ball?
Answer: The poet watched the
boy who had plunged in grief at the loss of his ball. He did not offer the boy
money • to buy another ball. He felt that another ball could not console the
boy. It seemed that the boy had the ball for a long time. The poet also wanted
the boy to realise the epistemology of loss.
Question
7. Why
did the boy feel so sad at the loss of his ball?
Answer: When the boy lost the
ball, he plunged in grief. He stood staring down the harbour where his ball was
lost. The boy was affected profoundly by the loss of his ball because it had
been with him for a long time. It was linked to the memories of the days when
he played with it.
Long Answer (Value
Based) Type Question
[8 Marks each]
Question 1. Why is it important for
everyone to experience loss and to stand up after it?
Answer: It is important for everyone to experience
loss and to stand up after it in order to be strong and to get on with life.
One needs to stay strong no matter how much it hurts inside. Staying strong is
the only way to survive. Moreover, one needs to learn to accept and let go and
not cling to something that they can never have. One should understand that the
past is gone and it will never come back. Experiencing loss sometimes helps us
to grow up and face hardships, like loss. This helps us in breaking all the
boundaries into freedom.
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