UP Board Class 10 English Chapter 5 – The Ball Poem (Poetry)

Explanation The poem starts with the poet looking at the boy who has lost his ball. The poet wants to know about him and his reaction after losing his ball. The poet himself saw the ball bouncing happily down the street and then falling into the water. The poet says that there is no use to tell the boy that there are other balls because he would get many other balls, but he would never be able to get the lost ball and the memories associated with it.

व्याख्या कविता की शुरूआत कवि द्वारा उस लड़के को देखने से होती है जिसने अपनी गेंद खो दी है। कवि लड़के की गेंद के खो जाने के पश्चात् उसके और उसकी प्रतिक्रिया के बारे में जानना चाहता है । कवि ने स्वयं गेंद को सड़क पर खुशी से उछलते हुए एवं पानी में गिरते हुए देखा था । कवि कहता है कि लड़के को यह बताने का कोई फायदा नहीं था कि अन्य गेंदें भी हैं, क्योंकि, वह बहुत सारी अन्य गेंदें प्राप्त कर सकता था, किन्तु वह कभी भी खोई हुई गेंद एवं उससे जुड़ी स्मृतियाँ वापस नहीं पा सकता था।

Explanation In these lines, the poet describes the condition of the boy after losing his ball. The boy feels very sad by the loss of his ball. He is standing like a statue at one place, shivering and staring down the ball which symbolises the memories of his young days. He is filled with sorrow and just keeps standing and looking in the direction where his ball is going. The poet says that he would not interfere with the boy’s thoughts as he feels that through this experience, the boy will learn the meaning of loss. The poet says that it is not worth to tell the boy that another ball can be bought for only a dime (ten cents). Because, he was very attached to his lost ball which was with him from his very childhood.

व्याख्या इन पंक्तियों में, कवि गेंद खोने के पश्चात् लड़के की स्थिति का वर्णन करता है। लड़के को अपनी गेंद खोने का बहुत दुःख होता है। वह एक मूर्ति की तरह एक ही जगह खड़ा है, काँप रहा है और गेंद की ओर घूर रहा है जो उसके बचपन के दिनों की स्मृतियों का प्रतीक है। वह शोकपूर्ण है एवं केवल उसी दिशा में खड़ा रहता है जिस दिशा में उसकी गेंद जा रही है। कवि कहता है कि वह लड़के के विचारों में हस्तक्षेप नहीं करेगा क्योंकि उसे यह महसूस होता है कि इस अनुभव के माध्यम से लड़का खोने का अर्थ सीख लेगा। कवि कहता है कि लड़के को यह बताना व्यर्थ है कि केवल एक पैसे (दस सेंट) में दूसरी गेंद खरीदी जा सकती है, क्योंकि वह उस खोई हुई गेंद से बहुत जुड़ा हुआ था जो बचपन से ही उसके साथ थी।

Explanation In these lines, the poet says that the boy is learning his first responsibility of taking care of his things and how to bear the loss of something in a world of possessions. The poet makes a broad statement that people will take balls and these balls will be lost. In other words, the boy will keep losing- things and would buy another one to replace the lost thing. But he would never be able to buy back that lost thing and the memories associated with it. Money is external as it cannot buy memories nor can it replace the lost things.

व्याख्या इन पंक्तियों में, कवि कहता है कि लड़का स्वयं की वस्तुओं का ध्यान रखने की एवं भौतिकवादी संसार में किसी वस्तु की हानि को सहन करने की अपनी पहली जिम्मेदारी सीख रहा है । कवि एक प्रभावशाली कथन देता है। कि लोग गेंद लेंगे और ये गेंद खो जाएगी। दूसरे शब्दों में, लड़का वस्तुओं को खोता रहेगा और खोई हुई वस्तुओं के स्थान पर नई खरीदता रहेगा । किन्तु वह कभी भी खोई हुई वस्तु एवं उससे जुड़ी स्मृतियों को वापस खरीद नहीं पाएगा। पैसा बाहरी है क्योंकि वह स्मृतियाँ नहीं खरीद सकता और न ही वह खोई हुई वस्तुओं का स्थान ले सकता है।

Explanation In these lines, the poet suggests that from the loss of the ball, the boy is learning the meaning of loss. He is also learning how to stand up from the loss. The poet says that knowing that every man has to stand up after such losses, the boy too will learn how to stand up and leave the losses behind. He would have understood the true meaning and nature of loss.

व्याख्या इन पंक्तियों कवि सुझाव देता है कि गेंद को खोने से, लड़का क्षति का अर्थ समझ रहा है। वह नुकसान का सामना करना भी सीख रहा है। कवि कहता है कि यह जानते हुए कि हर व्यक्ति को ऐसे नुकसान का सामना करना पड़ता है, लड़का भी सीख जाएगा कि किस प्रकार जिम्मेदारी समझे और नुकसानों को पीछे छोड़ें। वह हानि का वास्तविक अर्थ तथा हानि की प्रकृति समझ चुका होगा।

परीक्षा में Poetry भाग की किन्हीं भी तीन Poems के नाम दिए जाते हैं, जिनमें से किसी एक Poem का Central Idea लिखना होता है।

The poet John Berryman in this poem describes the grief of a boy over the loss of his ball. With that loss, he senses his first responsibility in a materialistic world. The poet suggests that the people whom we love and our material possessions will not be with us forever. One has to understand the nature of loss and learn to cope up with the loss. The child has to learn that loss is a part of everyday life and still life goes on.

इस कविता में कवि जॉन बैरीमैन ने एक लड़के की गेंद खोने पर उसे होने वाले दुःख का वर्णन किया है। इस हानि के साथ वह (लड़का ) इस भौतिकतावादी संसार में अपनी पहली जिम्मेदारी समझता है। कवि सुझाव देता है कि जिन लोगों को हम प्रेम करते हैं तथा हमारी भौतिक वस्तुएँ, सदा के लिए हमारे साथ नहीं रहेंगी। प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को क्षति की प्रकृति समझनी होगी एवं इस हानि का सामना करना सीखना होगा। बच्चे को यह समझना पड़ेगा कि हानि रोजमर्रा के जीवन का एक हिस्सा है एवं जीवन फिर भी चलता रहेगा ।

परीक्षा में पाठ्य पुस्तक से किसी भी Poem का एक अंश (Stanza) दिया जाता है तथा उस पर आधारित 2 प्रश्नों के उत्तर देने होते हैं। यहाँ पर Stanza के साथ 2 से अधिक Questions दिए गए हैं, जो केवल विद्यार्थियों के सम्पूर्ण अभ्यास के लिए हैं। परीक्षा में 1-1 अंकों के 2 ही Questions पूछे जाएँगे।

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

(a) wants the boy to answer the question.

(b) expects the passers-by to respond.

(c) is looking for answers in a self-help book.

(d) is thinking to himself.

Ans. (d) is thinking to himself.

(a) create a sense of rhythm in these lines.

(b) support the happiness of the experience of playing.

(c) contrast with the dejected feeling of the boy.

(d) indicate the cheerful mood of the boy.

Ans. (c) contrast with the dejected feeling of the boy.

(a) an onlooker observing

(b) a parent recounting the incident

(c) the boy talking about himself

(d) imagining the incident

Ans. (a) an onlooker observing

(a) Money has to be earned

(b) Money is meant to be spent

(c) Money is not fixed

(d) Money can be earned with hard work

Ans. (b) Money is meant to be spent

(a) The poet

(b) The young boy

(c) The poet’s son

(d) A teen boy

Ans. (b) The young boy

(a) Sense of loss

(b) Material things

(c) Every one loves to possess things

(d) World of wealth and prosperity

Ans. (d) World of wealth and prosperity

(a) Robert Frost

(b) WB Yeats

(c) Sylvia Plath

(d) John Berryman

Ans. (d) John Berryman

(a) imitation

(b) methodology

(c) philosophy

(d) assertion

Ans. (d) assertion

Ans. The boy is very much troubled at the loss of his ball. He experiences grief at the loss of his much loved possession. Like a statue, he keeps staring at the ball with his desperate eyes. He finds it difficult to cope up with the loss.

Ans. Yes, a ball is an inexpensive thing and easily available but that specific ball that the boy has lost is very valuable to him. His memories of younger days are associated with the ball. He had been playing with this ball for a long time. No other ball could take its place. So, he is sad to lose it.

Ans. The poet did not console the boy for two reasons. One, the boy was too shocked and grief stricken to listen to any consolation. The poet also wanted to make him understand that loss is a part of life and money cannot buy the lost thing. Moreover, the poet also observed that the boy was trying to somehow stand up or bear the loss on his own which is much more effective.

Ans. The boy was upset about losing his ball because it was his valued possession. It was a much-loved possession which he had since his childhood. It had been with him for a long time and was linked to the memories of the days when he played with it. Now, the ball was lost forever for him. He could buy a new ball but the memories with the lost ball were lost forever.

Ans. I think the ‘I’ in the poem is an observer who later got inspired to write a poem on his observation about a child’s grief who lost his favourite toy. I also feel that his decision was to be an observer so that the boy who had lost the ball could learn the lesson of moving on himself.

Ans. The poet says “I would not intrude on him” because he does not want to interfere in the natural process of learning. He wants the boy to learn the meaning of loss on his own. He also does not offer him money to buy another ball because that would be worthless. He wants the boy to learn the lesson of responsibility and accept that losses are a part of life.

Ans. Yes, the boy has had the ball for a long time. It is linked to the memories of days when the boy played with it. When it bounced into the water, all his memories of the days of childhood flashed in front of him. This led to a realisation that those moments would not come back, just like the ball. He can buy new balls and can similarly create new moments, but those which are gone will never return.

Ans. The phrase ‘in the world of possessions’ means that we are living in a world where everybody is worried about material possessions. Today’s world encourages materialism and a sense of possession. Every one is in the race of possessing more and more. So, if the boy has to grow up in this world, he must learn that loss is also an integral part of life. He must learn to bear any loss and control his emotions.

Ans. The poet says that the boy is learning to bear the loss of the ball. He is experiencing grief and learning to grow up in this world of possessions. He learns that there are so many things in life that are lost and cannot be brought back, He is sensing his first responsibility as he has lost the ball. The boy will learn how to stand up and leave the losses behind, as he would have understood the true meaning and nature of loss.