5. The Ball Poem By John Berryman
This poem is about a
boy whose ball bounces down into the street and finally falls down into the
water in the harbour. The poet watches the whole incident. He watches the boy
becoming sad and disappointed. He does not want to offer any consolation to the
boy by saying that he would have his other ball, etc. He let the boy experience
the pain at the loss of something dear to him. Thus the boy learns for the
first time that one should not grieve too much over the loss of material things
because these are only for some time with us.
Central Idea: We
should not feel sad at the loss of our worldly possessions. Things come to us
to go. Sometimes our dearest and most precious possessions are also lost. It
does not mean we should keep on weeping at the loss forever. Life must go on
without looking behind at the things that pain us.
Lines 1 – 4:
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!
Word meanings: 1. Merrily: happily 2. Bouncing: jumping
Explanation: In these lines, we come to know that the poet watches a little
boy playing with a ball. After some time, the ball rolls down from him. It
keeps on going towards the water in the harbour. The ball crosses the street
and finally falls into the water. The poet has seen all this occurring. The
poet says that the ball was bouncing and rolling down merrily in the street and
then in the water. Now the poet put a question to the reader as to what the boy
should do now.
Deep Meaning: The poet describes the state of mind of a young
boy when he loses his ball for the first time. The ball stands for material
possession. This is the common tendency that we all grieve over the loss of our
dear possession. But the poet is of the opinion that children must be taught
not to grieve over material things. Our possessive nature toward things makes
us sad.
Lines 5 – 10:
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 in the harbour where
His ball went. I would not intrude on him,
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now
Explanation: The poet says that there is no sense in giving false
consolation to the little boy. His parents should not say that they would
arrange for other balls to make the child happy. It would not benefit the boy
in any way. After that, the poet describes the condition of the boy after
losing the ball. As the boy is sure that his ball is lost, it makes his body
shiver in grief. This is his first experience of losing something he dearly
loved. He stands like a statue staring down in the harbour where his ball had
disappeared. It seems that the poet also remembers his childhood days passed on
the harbour playing with balls. His balls had also rolled down there into the
water. He also had the same type of painful feeling when he lost his ball for
the first time. The poet decides not to intrude on him. Let him alone bear the
loss of his dear possession. If a dime or another ball is given to him to
reduce his pain, it will not help him.
Lines
11-14
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: In this stanza, the poet tells us how the little boy had
learnt his first lesson of responsibility. This realisation must have come to
the child after undergoing the process of grief that emerges in the human heart
at the loss of some dear possession. The boy understood that it was his
responsibility to keep his things safe. The poet further says that in the world
of possession, things do not remain in one’s possession forever. Things come
and get lost. Sometimes things are snatched by others. One thing gets replaced
by the other. Then the poet says that money can be used to purchase material
things. But we cannot purchase emotions by money. No one keeps on weeping
forever over the things that are lost. Life goes on in this manner.
Critical Analysis:: Here, the ball is just a symbol of worldly
possession. Human beings sometimes have to lose even their dearest and most
precious possessions. It is natural that one grieves over the death of someone
near and dear. One has to bear that loss also. The loss of the ball was not a
big thing that should make one grieve so much. But it was the first experience
of the child when he has lost something he possessed so dearly. The poet did
not want to disturb him because it was desirable for the child to learn his
first lesson over losing his possession and learning the responsibility to keep
it safe.
Lines 15 – 20:
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.
And gradually light returns to the street,
A whistle blows, the ball is out of sight.
Word-meanings: 1. Desperate: feeling extremely sad and disappointed 2.
Epistemology /ɪˌpɪs.təˈmɒl.ə.dʒi/; The study of knowing things 3. Gradually:
slowly, at a slow pace
Explanation: The poet further says that the little boy is
learning the knowledge of how one feels after something dear to him is lost. At
the same time, the boy is learning how to overcome the emotions that make one
worried over the loss of something that has remained so much dear to him so
far. This is a general truth that one must know to stand in life and resume
work without brooding over the loss that occurred in the past.
After some time, the boy comes out of his grief and feels the
present through his surroundings. He comes to know that there is a light in the
streets. He listens to the whistle of a ship nearby. He also realises the truth
that he cannot get back his ball as it has gone out of both, his sight and
reach.
Lines 21 – 25:
Soon part of me will explore the deep and dark
Floor of the harbour. I am everywhere,
I suffer and move, my mind and my heart move
With all that move me, under the water
Or whistling, I am not a little boy.
Some Important Points in
the poem for Multiple Choice Questions:
1. The little boy is confused and does not know
what ot do when his ball is lost.
2. He trembles with grief at the loss of the ball.
3. The poet saw the ball merrily bouncing in the
street and then falling into the water of the harbour.
4. Then the poet remembers all his young days.
5. There was no worth/use in offering new balls to
the child.
6. The loss of the ball makes the boy learn the
responsibility to keep his possessions safe.
7. The boy is also learning the lesson of bearing
the loss of the things which are dear and precious to him.
8. Money is called external by the poet because we
can buy only material things from it. But we cannot by emotions.
9. John Berryman is the poet of this poem.
10. The boy lost his ball in the water of the
harbour.
Short Answer-Type
Questions
Q1. Why does the poet
say, “ I would not intrude on him.” Why doesn’t the poet intend to offer him
mney to buy a new ball?
Q2. What was the effect
of losing the ball on the boy? Where did he lose the ball?
Q3. What is the main
theme/idea/central idea of the poem?
Q4. Who loses the ball
and where?
Explain the line, “And
no one buys a ball back/money is external.”
Q5. What lesson does the
boy need to learn by losing the ball?
Q6. What do the eyes of
the boy see in the poem ‘The Ball Poem’? What lesson does he learn?
