Introduction
CBSE NCERT Notes for Class 10 English (Poem) Chapter 5 – The Ball
“The Ball Poem” is Chapter 5 of the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight book. John Berryman is the author. Students will discover an in-depth explanation of the Ball poetry, as well as a synopsis, here. The explanation will function as brief English notes that will aid in the reader’s comprehension of the poetry. Students may return to the synopsis at any moment to refresh their memory of the poem’s meaning. Examining the poem’s explanation and a summary will also aid in board test preparation.
CBSE Class 10 English notes will assist students in studying the topic thoroughly and clearly.
These CBSE Class 10 English notes were written by subject experts who made the study material very basic, both in terms of language and format.
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!
No use to say ‘O there are other balls’
EXPLANATION
The poet looks at the boy who has lost his ball. The poet wants to know more about him and how he felt after he lost his baby. The poet threw the ball down the street and then let it fly into the water on his own.
They say there is no point in telling the boy that there are other berries. he would get many other balls, but not the lost ball and the memories that go with it. This is because he wouldn’t be able to get the ball and the memories.
STANZA 2
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. I would not intrude on him;
A dime, another ball, is worthless.
EXPLANATION
In these lines, the poet talks about how the boy felt after he lost his ball.
The boy is very sad because he lost his ball. In this picture, he is standing in one place, shivering and looking down at the ball, which is a symbol of his memories from when he was younger. He is very sad, but he doesn’t move. He just stands where his ball is going.
The poet says that he won’t get into the boy’s head because he thinks that through this experience, the boy will learn what loss is.
To tell the boy that a new ball costs only a dime (ten cents) is not worth it. Because he was very attached to his lost ball, which had been with him since he was very young.
STANZA 3
Now
He senses first responsibility
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.
EXPLANATION
He is learning about his first responsibility of taking care of his things and how to deal with the loss of something in a world full of things. People will take balls, and these balls will be lost.
In other words, the boy will keep losing things and will buy a new one to replace the one that he lost. But he would never be able to buy back that lost thing and the memories it brought back.
Money is outside of the body because it can’t buy memories or replace things that have been lost, so it’s not inside.
STANZA 4
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
This epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up.
EXPLANATION
When the ball is lost, the boy learns about what it means to be disappointed.
He is also learning how to stand up after he has lost something. It will help the boy learn how to stand up and move on after he’s lost. His loss would have made him understand the true meaning of it.