CBSE Class 10 English The Ball Poem Worksheet

 

 

This poem is set near the harbour, as the poet says that the little boy’s ball rolled away from him and into the water. Both the poet and the boy are near the harbour. The poet can, in fact, see the boy and even his facial expressions very clearly.

 

This poem, by John Berryman, is about losing something that you love and learning to grow up. It is about a little boy who for the first time in his young life, is learning what it is like to experience grief at the loss of a much beloved possession - his ball. To us, the loss of a ball is of minor consequence and our reaction to it is to say 'O there are other balls'. But to a little boy, this is not so. A dime, another ball, is worthless. Money is external; it cannot buy back our love, nor replace the things that we love: the things that really matter.

 

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 our innocence and force us to grow up. And once we lose this innocence, we can never get it back. This poem goes to show how, all throughout 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; you have to learn to accept and let go - and not cling onto something that you can never have.

 

The poet uses imagery when describing how the ball personifies the spirit of the boy's childish innocence. In the last five lines, we visualize how the spirit of this little boy, like the ball, is sinking into the dark waters of the harbour. As it drifts further away, the boy learns to grow up and that part of him that is linked to that ball grows up as well, until it is no longer a little boy.

 

This poem consists of only one stanza. There is no rhyming, but the poet instead conveys his meaning through the rhythm, the tone and his use of words. For example, in the lines 'I saw it go, merrily bouncing down the street, and then merrily over' the short, brisk, happy words allow you to visualize a ball bouncing along. In the lines '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,' the  words and rhythm is tragic, dramatic and harsh, which is suitable for the situation. Similar uses of tone and rhythm help add to the effect of the poem and help emphasize the meaning.

 

Read the following Stanza and answer the questions that follow:

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!

Question. Why is the boy sad?
Answer. The boy was sad because he lost his ball.

Question. Where is the ball?
a) The ball bounced in the ground and went into the house.
b) The ball bounced down the street and went into the sewage.
c) The ball bounced down the street and went to the water.
d) The ball bounced in the ground and went down the streets.
Answer. The ball bounced down the street and went to the water.

Question. What is the poet talking about?
a) The boy who is happy always.
b) The boy who lost the ball.
c) The ball rolling into the streets.
d) The ball that was stolen from the boy.
Answer. The boy who lost the ball.

Question. “Merrily” is mentioned for?
a) Boy
b) Water
c) Street
d) Ball
Answer. Ball

Question. What does ‘Merrily’ mean?
Answer. Happily

 

2
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
Hs 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. Now
No senses first responsibility
In a world of possessions.

Question. Describe the boy’s emotional state.
Answer. The boy was in grief./The boy was sad.

Question. Explain- “I would not intrude on him”.
a) The poet did not intrude in his excitement as he wanted the boy to then boy his time and play happily.
b) The poet did not intrude in his grief as he didn’t understand how to deal with the situation.
c) The poet did not intrude in his grief as he wanted the boy to learn the lesson and value of responsibility.
d) The poet did intrude in his grief but the boy couldn’t understand what the poet meant him to know.
Answer. The poet did not intrude in his grief as he wanted the boy to learn the lesson and value of responsibility.

Question.. What did the boy feel for the first time?
a) Being in grief
b) Trembling
c) Innocence
d) Sense of responsibility
Answer. Sense of responsibility

Question. What is the ball loss being compared with?
a) The ball loss is compared with man’s innocent nature
b) The ball loss is compared with man’s happy nature.
c) The ball loss is compared with man’s rude nature.
d) The ball loss is compared with man’s childish nature.
Answer. The ball loss is compared with man’s innocent nature

Question. What does ‘intrude’ mean?
Answer. Interfere

 

3 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 His ball went.

Question. How do people generally treat a boy who has lost his ball?
a) People generally comfort the boy saying “there are other balls”.
b) People generally scold the boy saying “you were not playing properly”.
c) People generally ignore the boy saying “We don’t care”.
d) People generally appreciate the boy saying “Well done”.
Answer. People generally comfort the boy saying there are other balls.

Question. What comes to the boy’s mind, when he looks at the ball?
a) Parents scolding him.
b) All his infant days.
c) All his young days.
d) He won’t get another ball.
Answer. All his young days.

Question. Why is the boy sad?
Answer. The boy lost his ball.

Question. What does he stare at?
a) He stares at the poet.
b) He stares at the ball fallen in the water.
c) He stares at the cars in the street.
d) He stares at his parents.
Answer. He stares at the ball fallen in the water.

Question. ‘All his young days’, whose young days the line is referred to?
Answer. Boy’s young days are referred here.

 

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question. How was the boy’s ball lost?
Answer. The boy was playing with his ball. The ball bounced and it went down the street. From the street the ball fell into the water. This is how the boy lost this ball.

Question. How did the boy react after losing the ball?
Answer. The boy was very much upset after losing the ball. He was filled with sadness, which affected him greatly. Stunningly he stood in a stiff manner, overpowered with grief, trembling and staring down where his ball was lost.

Question. How does the boy learn ‘Senses first responsibility?
Answer. The boy loses his ball and gets upset. This was his first lesson in sensing first responsibility. He has the experience of losing something and learning how to cope up with the loss. He understands the nature of loss or what it means to lose something. He now will be more responsible and vigilant to avoid losing something in future.

Question. What do you think the poet means by the following lines? People will take Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy. And no one buys a ball back.
Answer. We think the poet, in these lines, conveys a great message. Losing ball here symbolises miseries arising out of the losses one suffers in life. In this materialistic world, there is cut throat competition. So, losses are bound to happen some day or the other. You have to make up for your own losses. Nobody else will, do it.

 

Question. What does the poet mean by “epistemology of loss”? OR How important is the learning to “epistemology of loss” for the boy?
Answer. According the poet, the epistemology of loss is the greatest lesson, the boy is learning. It teaches him to value and preserve his cherished things. It also teaches him to recover from the loss and move on with, his life. When we try to understand what it means to lose something, we are more vigilant to check the further losses. Thus, it helps us to be self-reliant and stand up on our own feet.

Question. Why is it important for everyone to experience loss to stand up after it?
Answer. The poet believes that nothing is eternal. Everyone must experience the loss to help him bear it. It also teaches him how to recover from it and stand up. It will remind him to protect and preserve his possessions.

Question. Why does the poet say that ‘Money is external’?
Answer. The poet believes that money cannot buy each and everything. It can bring just external happiness by buying us possessions but it cannot make a boy recover from his unhappiness due to loss of a loved one or valued thing.

Question. What does the poet say about “A world of possessions”? OR Why does the poet call the world ‘A world of possessions’?
Answer. The poet calls the world ‘A world of possessions’ because man values and is valued on the basis of his worldly possessions. All his feelings and his whole life are dominated by his possessions.

Question. Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him’? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball?
Answer. The poet wants the boy to experience the loss. He should learn that it is the part of life. That is why the poet does not want to interfere and wants the boy to be strong and handle the situation himself and does not want to offer him money to buy another ball.

Question. Write the central idea of the poem “The Ball Poem”.
Answer. The poet John Berryman “The Ball poem” describes the grief of a boy over the loss of his ball. This loss makes him realise his first responsibility. The poet wants us to understand that in this materialistic world nothing is forever. We will be forced to give up things which we love and even in time of problems, we have to learn to stand up. We have to learn to accept fate of our life.

 

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

Question. Why is it important for everyone to experience loss and to stand up after it? OR There’s always loss and there’s always disappointment. When someone is learning from loss, he is moving towards achievement. Elaborate. OR
It’s often been said that you learn more from losing than you do from winning. You learn a lot from a loss. It really gets your attention and it really motivates. Described.
OR
Loss is an essential and significant experience of one’s life. Explain.
Answer. Everyone experiences a loss at some point in one’s life. It might be the loss of a beloved, or a parent or a close relative or even a pet. Humans have a tendency of getting attached to things and the loss of things or people close to heart causes grievance. But one must not let that pull us down. Loss is an essential and significant experience of one’s life. And one must learn to deal with it and move on.
If we keep thinking about it or grieve over that loss, we can never come out of it. It will only affect us psychologically and can have severe consequences. Brooding over a loss will never help in bringing things back to normal. Loss is inevitable sometimes. Once a loss occurs, one must grieve, but only for a short while. Thereafter one must get over it and move on in life.

Question. staring down/ All his young days into the harbour where/His ball went…” Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?
Answer. Yes, it seems like the boy has had the ball for a long time. When it bounced into the water, all his memories of the days of childhood flashed in front of him. This led to a realization that those moments would not come back, just like the ball. He can buy new balls and can create new similar moments, but those that are gone, and would not ever return.

Question. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to explain this in your own words.
Answer. The boy has lost his ball while playing. The poet says that from this loss, the boy will learn in his years, what it means to lose something. Thus he will understand the nature of loss or how to face and cope up with losses one suffers in life. This experience of losing something will enable him to learn to be self- reliant and to stand up on his feet in the life where losses do occur, though they might not be important enough to worry about.

Question. Have you ever lost something you liked very much? Write a paragraph describing how you felt then and saying whether—and how—you got over your loss.
Answer. Last year, our beautiful dog Tommy was lost. All the family loved the dog very much, but I was very deeply attached to Tommy. I used to take full care of him and Tommy would accompany me wherever I allowed him to do so. I felt desperate and upset when Tommy was not traced at all the possible places, where we could find him. I did not feel like eating or going for morning walk. Tommy always used to accompany me when I went for my morning walk, Gradually I reconciled with the situation and consoled myself.
I totally engrossed myself in my studies though I did not feel like playing. I never stopped missing Tommy. Then, one day, when I went to another colony to meet a friend, I found Tommy tied in someday else’s home. When I approached them, they said that the beautiful dog seemed to have lost his way and so they had been giving care to him. I thanked them and returned home happily with Tommy.

 

 

 

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) What becomes peculiar of the boy who has lost his ball?

(b) What did the poet see?

(c) Where did the ball land finally?

(d) What has the boy lost?

 

2. “I would not intrude on him;

     A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now

     He senses first responsibility

     In a world of possessions.”

 

(a) Who does the word ‘he’ refer to?

(b) Why is money or another ball worthless for the boy?

(c) How does the boy sense responsibility?

(d) What kind of a world is it?

 

3. “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) How are the boy’s eyes?

(b) Why are the boy’s eyes ‘desperate’?

(c) What is the boy learning?

(d) What is the boy going to know?

 

 

1. What is the theme of the poem ‘The Ball Poem’?

2. A ball is an easily available, inexpensive thing. Then, why is the boy so sad to lose it?

3. What shows that the ball was valuable for the boy?

4. `He senses first responsibility’ What responsibility is referred to here?

5. Why did the poet not console the boy?