The Ball
John Berryman
Introduction
John Berryman tells that a boy loses his ball and it falls into the water. he is troubled at his loss. the poet wants to offer him money to buy another ball since the boy is understanding the nature of the loss.
👉Poetic Devices/Literary Devices
Summary
Losing the ball in water:-- once a boy is playing with his ball full stop it is bouncing in the street up and down. the boy is happily enjoying the game. while bouncing it falls in the water and it loses.
The boy is under grief:-- without the ball, the boy becomes full of grief. the poet says that there are other balls. they can purchase another since it is not a great loss. there is no need to worry. since the boy has this ball for a long time, so he is deeply grieved due to its attachment to it. It is linked to his memories. the poet thinks that it is no use to purchase another ball. he must feel his responsibility for loss
Word Meaning
Last - the act of losing गायब हो जाना | Merrily -Happily प्रसंता से | Bouncing - jumping उछलना | Ultimate - last अंतिम | shaking grief - trouble, sadness अत्यधिक दुख | Fixes - pierces, troubles परेशान करता है | Rigid - still hard सख्त्त | Trembling - shaking कांपना | Starring - looking keenly घूरना | Harbour - shelter शरण स्थान, बंदरगाह | Intrude - To thrust अधिकार में प्रवेश करना | Dime - 10 cents दस सेंट | Worthless - useless व्यर्थ | Senses - consider समझता है | Responsibility - an act of showing urgency जिम्मेवारी | Possession - one’s own right अधिकारी | External - outer बाहरी | Desperate - hopeless निराशा | Epistemology - understanding the nature of loss हनी के स्वरूप को समझना | Upset - troubled परेशान | stand up - help साथ देना | Epistemology - a Greek word means to understand ग्रीक भाषा का शब्द जिसका अर्थ है ज्ञान शास्त्र |
Alliteration:- use of sound ‘b’ at the start of two consecutive words (buys a ball back).
Assonance:- use of vowel sound ‘e’ (He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes).
Repetition:- ‘ball’ word is repeated.
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!
Who has lost the ball?
where did the ball go?
what did the poet see?
Answers
The poet has lost the ball.
The ball went into the water.
The poet saw the ball go.
Stanza 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
His ball went
Where does the boy stare?
How does the boy stand?
3. What does the poet not want to say?
Answers
1. The boy stares where his ball went.
2. The boy stands rigid.
3. The poet does not want to say ‘ O a there are other balls’.
Stanza 3
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
Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy.
What do the boys sense?
What will always be lost?
Name the poet and poem of the stanza?
Answers
The boys sense first responsibility in the world of possessions.
Balls I will always be lost.
The name of the poem is ‘ The ball poem’ composed by the poet John Berryman.
Stanza 4
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.
When do the boy’s eyes become desperate?
What is the boy learning?
What is the nature of loss?
Answers
When the boy loses the ball, his eyes become desperate.
The boy is learning the nature of the loss.
The nature of losses that all men lose one thing or another.
Thinking about the poem
Q1. Why does the poet say,” I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn't he offer him money to buy another ball?
Ans. The poet says so because now the boy is old enough to sense his own responsibility. According to him, we should not interfere with the freedom of others. the poet doesn't offer him money because the loss of the ball can't be recompensated with any amount of money.
Q2.”... staring down/ all his young days into the harbor 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?
Ans. Of Course, The boy kept the ball for a long time. it is linked to the memories of the days when he played with it. That is why he is staring at the place where it went and remembers his early childhood days.
Q3. what does” in the world of possessions” mean?
Ans.” the world of possessions” refers to this materialistic world. it means this world is full of such persons who want to possess more and more strength and wealth. these people value everything against money.
Q4. Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? pick out words that suggest the answer.
Ans. I think the boy has not lost anything earlier because generally, the first loss is shocking and full of grief. the following lines suggest this:
i)” An Ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy.”
ii)” Now he senses first responsibility.”
Q5. What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? try to explain this in your own words.
Ans. After losing the ball, the boy realizes the nature of the loss. now he understands that everything is subject either to be lost or to be destroyed. Everybody must learn this fact to face the difficult situation of loss.
Q6. Have you ever lost something you like very much? write a paragraph describing how you felt then, and saying whether- uh and how- how you got over your losses.
Ans. I had a watch presented to me by my uncle. I like it very much. one day while returning from school. I lost it on the school bus. I felt depressed full stop when my father came to know about this incident explain the nature of laws. but it took me a long time to get over it.
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