A poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer from the late nineteenth century about Casey,
an arrogant, overconfident baseball player who brings his team down to defeat by refusing to swing at the first two balls pitched to him and then missing on the third
.
author's purpose
The author is
hinting that the crowd is melancholy
because of these two players—if they get out, there will be no chance for Casey to come up to bat.
What is the theme of Casey and the bat?
Theme. The theme in this poem is
to not be too arrogant no matter how good you are
. Casey's arrogance was so overwhelming that he thought he could never be struck out and even let two balls fly past him as a strike.
What is the overall tone of Casey at the bat?
Mood/Tone-At the beginning the mood is abandonment of hope, once Casey comes to bat the mood shifts to
excitement and anxiety
at the end of the poem disappointment and the feeling of resentment.
Did the end of Casey at the Bat surprise you?
Expert Answers
Part of the enduring popularity of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's baseball poem “Casey at the Bat ” is
its surprise ending
, where the indomitable slugger does the unthinkable: He strikes out. Throughout the poem, the reader is led to believe that Casey will come through in the end.
What does Mudville 9 mean?
Before the dawn of the new millennium, the Stockton Ports changed names to the Mudville Nine, primarily because the owners felt that
the famous Ernest Thayer baseball poem, Casey at the Bat, took place in
Stockton, California.
What style of poem is Casey at the Bat?
Thayer titles this poem
a ballad, or a love song
. Not only is it a love song to the dramatic sport of baseball, but it is a ballad to ‘the Republic in 1888'. In other words, it sings the praises of United States culture. The poem follows a simple AABB format, where each verse has four lines.
Is Casey at the Bat a narrative poem?
Just as any other story,
a narrative poem has characters
, a plot, and a setting. … Crowd Pleaser After graduation, Thayer joined the staff of the San Francisco Examiner, where in 1887 he began writing a poem for each Sunday issue. “Casey at the Bat” was first printed in the paper in 1888.
What is the central conflict of Casey at the Bat?
The conflict in the poem by Ernest Thayer is
between Casey, the protagonist, and his arrogance
.
Is there a metaphor in Casey at the Bat?
Thayer uses
hyperbole
, or extreme exaggeration, in “Casey at the Bat” to develop the desperation of the crowd as they cheer on Casey in the final at bat of the game.
What causes Casey to strike out?
As for why mighty Casey struck out?
Nobody knows
. If we think of Casey as an Aristotelian tragic hero in an ancient Greek play, his failure at the plate might well be attributed to his tragic flaw (hamartia) of hubris—excessive pride—which caused him to let two strikes go by unanswered.
Who is the speaker of Casey at the Bat?
In ballads, the speaker often takes on the storyteller role, and that's the case with “Casey at the Bat.” The speaker is telling Casey's story. His job is simply to relate the events of the narrative.
What does Cooney died at first mean?
The
first batter
, “Cooney,” is out; he “dies” at first base. The second batter, “Barrows” is also out at first. Oh, snap—that means that Mudville is down to their last out. They only have one chance left to score some runs and catch up. The hometown crowd realizes their chances for victory are fading fast.
What did Casey do on the first pitch?
When he finally gets to his base, however, Casey does not swing at first pitch, instead
watching the ball “in haughty grandeur”
and declaring that the pitch “ain't my style.” As such, Casey does not swing, allowing the ball to go by and causing uproar in the audience, which Casey stills by raising his hand.
What did Flynn and Blake do in Casey at the bat?
for there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat. But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, and Blake, the much despised,
tore the cover off the ball
; … for Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
Why was there no joy in Mudville?
The American-English phrase no joy in Mudville denotes a sense of pervasive and shared disappointment. It
alludes to the defeat of the baseball team of Mudville, a fictional town in Casey at the Bat
. A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888.
