The Ball Poem - Extract Based Questions

Extract 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!  

1. What has the boy lost?

   The boy has lost his ball.

2. How did the ball move before it was lost?

   The ball bounced merrily down the street.

3. Where does the ball end up?

   The ball ends up in the water.

4. What is the rhyme scheme of these lines?

   There is no  rhyme scheme.

5. Identify a poetic device in this part.

  Repetition, Anaphora ("Merrily, What" is repeated).

Extract 2

No use to say ‘O there are other balls’:  

An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy  

As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down  

All his young days into the harbour where  

1. How does the boy feel about losing his ball?

   The boy feels a deep, shaking grief.

2. What is the boy doing as he feels this grief?

   He stands rigid, trembling, and staring down into the harbour.

3. What does the poet suggest is not useful to say to the boy?

   It is not useful to say “there are other balls.”

4. What poetic device is used in "shaking grief"?

   Transferred Epithet

Extract 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. People will take  

1. Why does the speaker not intrude on the boy?

   The speaker feels it is important for the boy to experience and understand his loss.

2. Why does the speaker say another ball or a dime is worthless?

   Because the value of the lost ball cannot be replaced by money or another ball.

3. What important lesson is the boy beginning to learn?

   The boy is learning the first sense of responsibility in a world of possessions.

4. Identify a poetic device in “A dime, another ball, is worthless.”

   Hyperbole.

Extract 4

Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy.  

And no one buys a ball back. Money is external.  

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.  

1. What does the speaker mean by "balls will be lost always"?

   The speaker means that losses are a natural part of life and will happen frequently.

2. Why does the speaker say "money is external"?

   Because money cannot replace the emotional value of what is lost.

3. What is the boy learning according to the speaker?

   The boy is learning the epistemology of loss, which means understanding and coping with loss.

4. Identify a poetic device in “behind his desperate eyes.”

   Imagery.