P-5 The Ball Poem

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!

The extract suggests that the poet is

• an onlooker observing

• a parent recounting the incident

• the boy talking about himself

• imagining the incident

The poet seems to have indicated the merry bouncing of the ball to

• create a sense of rhythm in these lines.

• support the happiness of the experience of playing.

• contrast with the dejected feeling of the boy.

• indicate the cheerful mood of the boy.

Choose the situation that corresponds to the emotion behind the

exclamation mark in the poem.

• option 1

• option 2

• option 3

• option 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!

The poem begins with a question. Based on your reading of the poem, the

speaker

• wants the boy to answer the question.

• expects the passers-by to respond.

• is looking for answers in a self-help book.

• is thinking to himself.

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!

Alliteration is a literary device that occurs with the same letter or sound at

the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Pick the option that showcases an example of alliteration from the extract.

• What is the boy now

• who has lost his ball

• I saw it go

• and then/ Merrily over

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;

The poet uses the word ‘ultimate’ to describe the boy’s reaction.

Pick the meaning that DOES NOT display what, ‘ultimate’ means in the

context given.

• consequent

• final

• conclusive

• fateful

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;

The boy is very young in this poem. As a mature, balanced grown-up, he

might look back and think that his reaction of ‘ultimate shaking grief’ was

1) disproportionate to the loss.

2) pretension to procure a new toy.

3) according to his exposure and experience then.

4) a reaction to the failure of retrieving the toy.

5) justified and similar to what it would be currently.

• 5 & 2

• 1 & 3

• 2 & 4

• 3 & 5

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;

Pick the option that lists the boy’s thoughts, matching with the line-As he

stands rigid, trembling, staring down.

• Option 1

• Option 2

• Option 3

• Option 4

Why does the speaker choose not to intrude?

This is so because the poet

• knows that it would embarrass the boy in his moment of grief

• feels that it’s important that the boy learn an important life lesson,

  undisturbed.

• realises that he doesn’t have sufficient funds to purchase a new ball for

  the boy.

• Experiences a sense of distress himself, by looking at the boy’s

  condition.

Choose the option that lists the meaning of ‘harbour’ as used in the extract.

Noun:

(1) a place on the coast where ships may moor in shelter.

(2) a place of refuge.

Verb:

(3) keep (a thought or feeling, typically a negative one) in one's mind,

especially secretly.

(4) shelter or hide (a criminal or wanted person).

• Option 1

• Option 2

• Option 3

• Option 4