Section A: 1-Mark Questions 

1.Where did the ball go after it bounced down the street?

Answer: The ball went into the water of the harbour.

2. Who is the poet of "The Ball Poem"?

Answer: The poet is John Berryman.

3. What does the word "rigid" mean in the context of the poem?

Answer: It means to stand stiff.

4. According to the poet, what is "external"?

Answer: Money is considered external.

5. What phrase suggests that the loss of a ball is usually considered unimportant?

Answer: The phrase "O there are other balls".

6. What is the value of a "dime" in U.S. currency?

Answer: A dime is worth ten cents.

7. What does the Greek word episteme mean?

Answer: It means "knowledge".

8. What is the boy staring at specifically?

Answer: He is staring down into the harbour where his ball went.

9. What "fixes" the boy as he stands by the harbour?

Answer: An "ultimate shaking grief" fixes the boy.

10. Why is the boy "desperate"?

Answer: He is hopeless because he has lost something he can never buy back.

Section B: 2-Marks Questions :

1.Why does the poet say, "I would not intrude on him"?

Answer: The poet does not want to interfere because the boy needs to experience and understand the grief of loss on his own. It is a necessary step in his personal growth.

2. What does the poet mean by "the epistemology of loss"?

Answer: It refers to understanding the nature of loss and what it truly means to lose something in life. It is the process of learning how to cope with the disappearance of things we value.

3. Explain the line: "He senses first responsibility / In a world of possessions."

Answer: This means the boy is beginning to realize that in a world where people own things, it is his duty to look after them, and he must accept that objects can be lost.

4. Why doesn’t the poet offer the boy money to buy another ball?

Answer: The poet believes a new ball is "worthless" because it cannot replace the memories and "young days" attached to the original ball.

5. How does the boy react to the loss of his ball?

Answer: The boy is very upset; he stands rigid and trembling, staring down into the water with "desperate eyes" and a "shaking grief".

6. "Money is external." Why does the poet use this phrase?

Answer: Money can buy material objects (new balls), but it cannot buy back lost time, memories, or the emotional connection one had with a lost item.

7. Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Give a reason.

Answer: Yes, the poem mentions him staring at "all his young days" in the harbour, suggesting the ball was linked to his childhood memories.

8. What is the "ultimate shaking grief" mentioned in the poem?

Answer: It is a deep sadness that greatly affects the boy, making him stand still and tremble as he realizes his ball is gone forever.

9. What must "every man" one day know, according to the poet?

Answer: Every person must eventually learn the "epistemology of loss"—specifically, how to "stand up" and move forward after losing something dear.

10. What is the significance of the ball bouncing "merrily"?

Answer: The word "merrily" contrasts the innocent, happy movement of the ball with the sudden, harsh reality of the boy's sadness once it is lost in the water.