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

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

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;

Why does the speaker choose not to intrude?

This is so because the poet

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

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

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.

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

Why does the poet say, "No use to say 'O there are other balls'"?

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

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

Which option lists who is speaking these lines?

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

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

The poet says money is external. What does it mean in this extract?

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

What does the loss of the ball symbolize 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?

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