The Ball Poem Class 10 MCQ Quiz – Test Your Understanding!

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.

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

As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down.

What does the loss of the ball symbolize in the poem?

What does the poet suggest about the boy's emotional state when he says, "He senses first responsibility"?

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’:
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

The poet feels that there is no point in consoling the boy as

How does the boy's reaction to losing the ball reflect his understanding of life?

What is the central theme of The Ball Poem?

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’:
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

The word that DOES NOT indicate a physical manifestation of sorrow in the boy, is

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

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.

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’:
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

The poet uses the ball as a symbol of the boy’s

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!

Choose the situation that corresponds to the emotion behind the exclamation mark in the poem.

Money is external.
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

According to the poet, from whom do we mostly learn about loss?

Choose the option that CORRECTLY identifies what the narrator is feeling in the line given below.

As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down

1. guilt
2. shock
3. shame
4. fearlessness
5. hopelessness

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’:
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

‘Merrily over — there it is in the water!’ The dash here is meant to convey