This is a link to the poem Casey at the Bat, by By Ernest Lawrence Thayer.
Link
This is my interpretation of Casey at Bat.
- Why was this poem written?
I think this poem was written as a form of entertainment. Back in the 1800’s people didn’t have televisions, radios, gameboys, PSPs, etc. People back then only had the paper to entertain them.
- What happened in the poem and what are some clues that show this.
The main idea of the story was that Mudville Nine the baseball team was down by two runs with one more inning and one out to go. Mighty Casey was now at bat. Casey made two balls go by without any effort hoping to hit the last one, but he didn’t.
These are three of my favorite lines, but I also think that these are the three most summative lines.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain.
And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again. But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.
- What is the main lesson we learn from this poem?
The two main lessons that I learned about this poem are people make mistakes no matter who they are and remain humble.
- What is Casey really like and what proof do you have that he is like this?
I think Casey is a bully who is good at baseball, but not good under pressure. I also think he is very arrogant and maybe even cocky a jock because of the many ways he shows off. I say he’s a bully because of how the author says he sneers, grunts, pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. I think he is good at baseball because of this line:
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
I say he is not good under pressure because he loses the game in the end.
- Pick at least 5 vocabulary words and define them in the context of the story.
Violence- I think this means that he meant business. Casey hit the plate with all his might and strength.
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
Shattered- Shattered means that Casey swung his bat really hard.
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.
Stern- I think stern means the same thing as violence, he was serious.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
Scornful- I think scornful means that when Casey took one serious look at the audience they knew that Casey would win the game.
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
Mighty- Mighty means that, the Casey they were all counting on just lost.
But there is no joy in Mudville – mighty Casey has struck out.
- What emotions do you get when reading this poem?
I only had feelings at the very end of the poem. I was really shocked that Casey let the crowd down.
- What are some good images that the author has used to paint a picture of what the game was like.
I think that the best image the author has painted is the crowd cheering wildly and Casey acting all calm and confident.
- Why are these good images?
I think that is a good image because for me this is the whole scenario in the poem.
- Can you see any techniques or styles that this poet has used? If yes can you describe them?
He used music by rhyming and made very good description of the characters and the scenario. Another very good technique that the author used was building my emotions (as a reader) and then all of a sudden making Casey lose.
