First Flight Poem

1. English Language Teaching Institute
IASE, Bikaner
presents
E-Contents for class X
First Flight

2. Our request
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ELTI team

4. John Allyn Berryman (October 25,
1914 – January 7, 1972) was an
American poet and scholar, born
in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a
major figure in American poetry in
the second half of the 20th
century and was considered a key
figure in the Confessional school
of poetry. His best-known work
is The Dream Songs.
About the poet

5. About the Poem
A boy loses a ball. He is very upset. A ball
doesn’t cost much, nor is it difficult to buy
another ball. Why then is the boy so upset?
Read the poem to see what the poet thinks has
been lost, and what the boy has to learn from
the experience of losing something

6. Glossary
O there are other balls: The words suggest that the loss
is not important enough to worry about shaking grief:
sadness which greatly affects the boy
rigid: stiff (to)
intrude on: here, to enter a situation where one is not
welcome
a dime: ten cents (U.S.)
desperate: hopeless
epistemology of loss: understanding the nature of loss —
what it means to lose something
epistemology: The Greek word episteme means
‘knowledge’ (it comes from a word meaning ‘to
understand, to know’). Epistemology is the study of the
nature of knowledge itself.

7. 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!
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. I would not intrude on him;
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now
He senses first responsibility
In a world of possessions. People will take
Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy.
And no one buys a ball back. 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.

8. Main idea of the poem
The ball in the poem represents so many different
things to different people. To everyone, though, it is
something that has been lost. It could be something
abstract or something concrete that was lost. It could
be a feeling that you have gone astray or the death of a
loved one
The little boy has lost his ball…and so what he can
buy many new balls nut he has a very deep emotional
attachment and memories associated with that ball so
he regrets over the loss of the ball.

9. The poet is indirectly trying to tell us the we
should learn how to cope up with the loss…and
money is external i.e. we cant buy memories
with money…
We all should learn our responsibility and
learn to cope up with the loss…

10. Comprehension Questions
Q1) What message does John Berryman want to convey through this
poem?
Ans1) The message that the poet wants to convey is the importance of
loss and responsibility in life. We should not forget the importance
of possessions.
Q2) How does the boy feel at the loss of his ball?
Ans2) The boy very much troubled at the loss of his ball. His ball falls
in water. He is much upset as he has a long association with the ball.
Q3) “Money is external’ What does the poet mean by this expression
taken from the ball?
Ans3) He makes the boy understand about his responsibility as the
loss is immaterial. He can purchase another ball. He explained that
the world is full of possessions and money is external item

11. Prepared by
Rajendra Prasad
Lecturer in English
GSSS, Suratgarh
(Sri Ganganagar)
Mob: 9929842897
Poonam Yadav
Senior Teacher of English
GGSSS, LBD,
Raghunathsar Kuan, Bikaner
Mob: 01512231253

12. Academic Support
Ram Gopal Sharma
Chief Resource Person
ELTI, IASE, Bikaner
Edited by
Rameshwar Lal Basera
Reader, ELTI, IASE, Bikaner
Issued by
CM Gangwal
Director
ELTI, IASE, Bikaner
Facilitated by
Yashoda Khatri
Resource Person, ELTI, IASE, Bikaner

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