Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Ball Poem - Summary + Worksheet
The Ball Poem - Summary + Worksheet
Central idea
The Ball Poem’ looks like a simple story of a young boy losing his ball. The boy is severely upset
over the loss. Normally, it may seem like a great overreaction. Children lose things like their toys
and balls quite often. Usually, no fuss should be made about such a small thing. But the ball seems
to be symbolising the poet’s childhood. The boy becoming an adult loses his childhood. He was
clinging onto his childhood for so long. The poet accepts the changes in his life. Although he is
still suffering yet he is learning to move on from his fleeting childhood. The true theme of the
poem is that we should cherish every moment of life. Life is really very short. The poet realises
that it is very difficult to deal with the loss but it must be done. We should move on as there is no
use in wasting precious time and life.
Style
The poem uses a good combination of tone, imagery and symbolism. In the beginning, the tone is
depressing. It depicts a scene where a young boy has lost his ball when it is bounced into the
harbour. The loss of the ball symbolises the loss of innocence and childhood. Like childhood, the
lost ball can’t be retrieved. The tone in the end changes giving an encouraging message that life
should be lived as it is and we should move on with the changing time. The poem is in the free
verse as it suits its tone and content.
REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
I.
“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':”
II.
“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.
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes.”
Literary devices:
1.Anaphora: use of repeated words in two or more lines (What is the boy… what, what
and merrily bouncing… merrily over)
2. Assonance: repeated use of vowel ‘o’ (boy, now, who, lost); use of vowel sound ‘e’
(He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes)
___________________*******************____________________