5. The Ball Poem
Introduction
In his
poem "The Ball Poem," John Berryman explores the reality of life that
everyone will face one day. He addresses how we must cope with the hardships
and sorrows that life brings.
Theme
John
Berryman’s poem “The Ball Poem” focuses on themes like childhood, loss, and the
search for innocence. The poem reflects the speaker's longing for the carefree
days of childhood when playing with a ball was a simple joy. It also talks
about the sadness and inevitable loss that comes with growing up, and the
importance of learning how to deal with loss and continue moving forward in
life.
Summary
In the
poem, the poet talks about a little boy who loses his ball while playing. The
ball rolls out of his hand and falls into a nearby body of water. The poet
describes how the boy stands helplessly, staring at the water where his ball
disappeared. He is sad and trembling with fear, and he stays by the water for a
long time, hoping the ball will come back.
The poet
thinks about comforting the boy by telling him he can get a new ball or even
give him money to buy another one. But the poet realizes that although money
can buy a new ball, it cannot replace the memories and feelings connected to
the lost ball. The poet says that this is a moment for the boy to learn an
important lesson in life—the lesson of accepting loss. The poem teaches that in
life, we will eventually lose things and people we love, and we must learn to
deal with these losses as we grow up.
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 he
would not intrude because he wants the boy to experience and understand the
truth of life on his own. The boy needs to learn how to accept loss. Losing
something important teaches a valuable lesson, and the poet believes that
offering money would stop him from learning this lesson.
Q2: “… 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?
Ans: Yes, it seems that
the boy has had the ball for a long time. The way he stares at the water
suggests that the ball holds many memories of happy times spent playing with
it. The ball is connected to his past and the joy he had while using it.
Q3: What does “in the
world of possessions” mean?
Ans: "In the world
of possessions" refers to the materialistic world, where people own things
that bring comfort or luxury to their lives.
Q4: Do you think the
boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
Ans: The words "now
he senses his first responsibility" suggest that the boy has never
experienced a loss before. This is likely his first significant loss, making
him realize the importance of 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: The poet says that
the boy is learning how to deal with loss. Losing the ball teaches him that
life involves losses, and he must learn to accept them and move on. This lesson
about loss is an important part of growing up, as everyone eventually faces the
pain of losing something or someone important.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
Q1. No use to say ‘Oh, there are other balls’
What do the words in quotes mean? Why does the poet think it's useless to tell
the boy this?
Ans: The words mean that the loss of the ball is not something to worry
about. The poet knows the boy is sad about losing his ball and understands that
telling him it's not important won't help.
Q2. What is the boy learning from the loss of the
ball?
Ans: The boy is learning about loss. He is starting to understand what
it feels like to lose something important to him.
Q3. “And no one buys a ball back. Money is external.”
What does the poet mean by this?
Ans: The poet means that you can't get back something you've lost, even
if you have money. Money can buy new things, but it can’t bring back what’s
been lost.
Q4. ‘He senses first responsibility’—What
responsibility is this?
Ans: The responsibility here is the boy learning that losing something
valuable means growing up. The loss of his ball represents the loss of his
childhood innocence, and he has to take on the responsibility of facing such
losses.
Q5. Why does the poet say he won’t offer the boy money
to buy another ball?
Ans: The poet doesn’t want to offer the boy money because he wants the
boy to understand that losing something is a natural part of life. Giving him
money to buy a new ball would make the loss less meaningful.
Q6. A ball is inexpensive and easy to get. Why is the
boy so sad to lose it?
Ans: The ball may be easy to replace, but the boy has special memories
tied to this particular ball. It’s not just any ball to him, so its loss is
very upsetting.
Q7. What do you think of the title, ‘The Ball Poem’?
Ans: The title might make you think the poem is about fun or childhood
joy, but actually, it’s about learning to deal with loss and growing up. It
teaches us not to dwell on losses but to understand and accept them.
Q8. How did the boy react after his ball fell into the
water?
Ans: The boy was shocked and stood still, staring at the spot where his
ball fell. He was deeply upset and seemed frozen in place, unable to move.
Q9. Does the lost ball represent the boy’s lost
childhood? How?
Ans: Yes, the lost ball is a symbol of the boy’s lost childhood. Just
like the ball, his childhood is gone and cannot be returned, and that’s what
makes the loss so hard for him to bear.
Q10. What is the rule of the ‘world of possessions’?
Ans: In the world of possessions, getting and losing things is a natural
part of life. No matter how much money you have, you can’t replace what is
lost, especially emotional things like childhood.
Q11. If you were the poet, what toy would you use
instead of a ball?
Ans: If I were the poet, I would use a doll. Children often care for
dolls like a baby, and losing a doll would show the emotional pain and loss
more clearly, since children form a strong bond with them.
Q12. Is the ‘I’ in the poem the poet or an observer?
Why?
Ans: The ‘I’ in the poem is the poet, because he talks about not wanting
to interrupt the boy’s grief, which suggests he’s speaking from personal
experience and understanding.
Q13. How does “Out of sight, out of mind” apply to the
boy at the end of the poem?
Ans: At the end, when the boy can no longer see the ball, he starts to
forget about it slowly. The saying "out of sight, out of mind" means
that when something is no longer visible, it’s easier to stop thinking about
it.
Q14. The quote “Responsibility is self-taught.” How
does the poem address this?
Ans: The poem shows that responsibility is learned by dealing with loss.
The boy has to face the pain of losing his ball on his own and understand that
this is part of life.
Q15. How would a young person today feel if they lost
their mobile phone? How would that be different from the boy in the poem?
Ans: A young person today might feel upset about losing their phone, but
they would likely just buy a new one. Unlike the boy, who is deeply attached to
his ball and feels its loss emotionally, today’s youth may not form the same
emotional attachment to material possessions.
Long Answer Questions:
Q1. Should the boy be allowed to grieve for his ball?
If his loss is irreparable, how should one handle it? What lessons can be
learned?
Ans: Yes, the boy should be allowed to grieve for his ball because it
was special to him. It’s important not to stop someone from grieving, as they
need time to process their emotions. When the loss is permanent, we should
learn to console ourselves and understand the nature of loss. The best way to
handle it is through self-understanding, not by relying on others to fix it for
us.
Q2. How did the boy really react to the loss of the
ball? Was he afraid of something or someone? What about his family or others?
What lessons can we learn?
Ans: The boy wasn’t afraid of anyone; he was just deeply upset about the
ball. His reaction showed how much he cared about it. His family might not
understand how big the loss feels, since a ball is something easy to replace,
but the lesson is that emotional losses are more meaningful than material ones.
Money can’t replace the feelings tied to a special possession.
Q3. How is the lost ball a metaphor for the boy’s lost
childhood? Why doesn’t the poet want to offer the boy money to buy another
ball?
Ans: The lost ball represents the boy’s lost childhood because, like the
ball, childhood is something precious that cannot be returned. The poet doesn’t
offer money because he wants the boy to understand the nature of loss and grow
emotionally. Buying a new ball would just cover up the deeper emotional lesson
he needs to learn.
Q4. What is the ‘epistemology of loss’ in this world
of possessions? How has the child learned to stand up in life?
Ans: The ‘epistemology of loss’ means understanding that loss is a
natural part of life. The boy learns that no matter how much money you have,
you can’t bring back what you’ve lost. He will have to accept this truth and
move forward in life, learning to cope with both gaining and losing things.
Q5. If the Buddha were to summarize the life lesson of
“The Ball Poem”, what would his sermon be?
Ans: The Buddha would say that loss is a natural part of life.
Everything we have is a gift, and we should not become too attached to material
things. When we lose something, we should not despair, as loss is a part of our
growth. Just as the ball represents a lost childhood, we must learn to accept
and grow from the losses we experience in life.
Poetic
Devices
- Blank Verse: The poem
doesn’t have a rhyme scheme and is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
(a rhythmic pattern).
- Imagery: Descriptive language that creates mental
pictures:
- The ball “merrily bouncing” shows joy,
which contrasts with the boy’s sadness.
- “Shaking grief” and the boy “standing
rigid” show his deep emotional pain.
- Repetition: Repeating
words to emphasize feelings:
- “What, what is he to do?” shows the boy’s
confusion.
- “Merrily” repeats to show the carefree
nature of the ball, which is now lost.
- “How to stand up” highlights learning to
cope with loss.
- Symbolism: Objects or
events representing bigger ideas:
- The ball symbolizes childhood innocence,
and its loss shows the end of innocence and the start of understanding
life’s challenges.
- The harbor symbolizes time passing and
inevitable change.
- Tone: The poet's attitude toward the subject,
creating emotional depth:
- The tone is sad and empathetic, showing
the boy's deep loss.
- Metaphor: Comparing things without “like” or “as”:
- “Epistemology of loss” represents the
process of learning to deal with loss as the boy grows up.
- Personification: Giving human
traits to non-human things:
- The ball is described as moving
“merrily,” a human-like joy.
- Grief is said to “fix” the boy, giving it
a strong, almost physical presence.
- Alliteration: Repeating
consonant sounds:
- “What, what is he to do?”
- “Balls, balls will be lost always.”
- Anaphora: Repeating a word or phrase at the
beginning of lines:
- “What is the boy... what, what…”
- Enjambment: A sentence or
idea runs over from one line to the next without punctuation, helping the
poem flow.
- Transferred Epithet: When an
adjective is shifted from one noun to another:
“Desperate eyes” focuses on the boy’s emotional
state, not just his eyes.
- Rhetorical Question: A question
asked for effect rather than an answer:
“What, what is he to do?” highlights the boy’s
helplessness and the inevitability of loss.
