The Ball Poem Common MCQ for HSLC 2026

The Ball Poem Common MCQ for HSLC 2026: The Ball Poem is the poem no five from class 10 NCERT English textbook. The poem The Ball Poem is penned by Poet John Berryman. Here we'll get to The Ball Poem Common MCQ for HSLC 2026.

The Ball Poem Class 10 MCQ question with Answers for HSLC 2026 | The Ball Poem Common MCQ for HSLC 2026 with Answers

1. Who is the poet of the poem ‘The Ball Poem’ ?
(a) Sylvia Plath
(b) W.B Yeats
(c) Robert Frost
(d) John Berryman.
Ans: (d) John Berryman.

2. The expression 'what, what is he to do ? denotes ......
(a) loss of ball
(b) further action of boy
(c) boy's grief over loss a ball
(d) feels happy
Ans: (c) boy's grief over loss a ball

3. Why are the boy’s eyes desperate ?
(a) Because he has lost his ball.
(b) Because he has lost his money.
(c) Because he has lost his gloves
(d) None of the Above
Ans: (a) Because he has lost his ball.

4. Where did the ball go ?
(a) Across the street
(b) Into water
(c) In a drain
(d) far off in a jungle
Ans: (b) Into water

5. What does ‘in the world of possessions’ means ?
(a) Love
(b) Lust
(c) Materialistic things
(d) None of the Above
Ans: (c) Materialistic things

6. Which word is synonym of 'happily' ?
(a) friendly
(b) hopefully
(c) merrily
(d) sadly
Ans: (c) merrily

7. Where was the boy staring down ?
(a) the sea
(b) the ocean
(c) the harbour
(d) the lake
Ans: (c) the harbour

8. Name the literary device used in “And no one buys a ball back.”
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Alliteration
(d) Anaphora
Ans: (c) Alliteration

9. Explain the expression 'shaping grief'.
(a) trembling in grief
(b) crying in grief
(c) feeling unhappy and very sad
(d) not able to move
Ans: (c) feeling unhappy and very sad

10. Why does the poet decide not to condole the boy ?
(a) He is busy
(b) He is indifferent
(c) It will be of no use
(d) He is happy
Ans: (c) It will be of no use

11. According to the poet, what is the child learning ?
(a) to bear loss
(b) to take care of things
(c) to be responsible
(d) to be careful
Ans: (a) to bear loss

12. What does a ball cost ?
(a) 5 dimes
(b) 10 dimes
(c) 1 dime
(d) 4 dimes
Ans: (c) 1 dime

13. How are the boy's eyes ?
(a) sparkling
(b) dull
(c) desperate
(d) happy
Ans: (c) desperate

14. What is the boy playing with ?
(a) bat
(b) ball
(c) car
(d) bus
Ans: (b) ball

15. What does the word 'balls' signify ?
(a) sports material
(b) Wishes of a child
(c) Boy's childhood and innocence
(d) sense of loss
Ans: (c) Boy's childhood and innocence

16. Why is money considered external in the poem ?
(a) It can replace lost things
(b) It is made artificially
(c) It must be earned through hard work
(d) None of the above
Ans: (a) It can replace lost things

17. Why does the boy’s gaze appear desperate ?
(a) He has lost his ball
(b) He has lost his gloves
(c) He has lost his money
(d) None of the above
Ans: (a) He has lost his ball

18. What does the ball symbolize in the poem ?
(a) The boy’s innocence and childhood
(b) The boy’s responsibilities
(c) The boy’s future
(d) The boy’s wealth
Ans: (a) The boy’s innocence and childhood

19. What does the boy understand after losing his ball ?
(a) How to find lost objects
(b) The importance of wealth
(c) The inevitability of loss and acceptance
(d) The value of friendship
Ans: (c) The inevitability of loss and acceptance

The Ball Poem Common MCQ for HSLC 2026 PDF | The Ball Poem MCQ Pdf with Answers

20. What does the line “balls will be lost always” mean ?
(a) The abundance of balls
(b) The inevitability of losses in life
(c) The importance of playing
(d) The boy’s carelessness
Ans: (b) The inevitability of losses in life

21. The poet seems to have indicated the merry bouncing of the ball to
(a) Create a sense of rhythm in these lines
(b) Support the happiness of the experience of playing
(c) Contrast with the dejected feeling of the boy
(d) Indicate the cheerful mood of the boy
Ans: (c) Contrast with the dejected feeling of the boy

22. After losing his ball, what does the boy keep looking at ?
(a) His friend
(b) The sky
(c) The water where the ball sank
(d) Another ball
Ans: (c) The water where the ball sank

22. The poet does not offer a new ball to the boy because he wants him to learn the value of _________ .
(a) Responsibility
(b) Loss
(c) Money
(d) Ability
Ans: (b) Loss

24. Why does the poet decide not to condole the boy ?
(a) He is busy
(b) He is indifferent
(c) It will be of no use
(d) He is happy
Ans: (c) It will be of no use

25. Name the literary device used in “And no one buys a ball back.”
(a) Metaphor
(b) Simile
(c) Alliteration
(d) Anaphora 
Ans: (c) Alliteration

26. Which of the following best describes the speaker’s attitude towards material possessions ?
(a) Indifferent
(b) Emotional
(c) Casual
(d) Respectful
Ans: (a) Indifferent

27. What does the expression ‘what, what is he to do’ denote ?
(a) Loss of the ball
(b) Ask the poet for another ball
(c) Boy’s grief over the loss of the ball
(d) Go down the street
Ans: (c) Boy’s grief over the loss of the ball

28. There is no use to say ‘O there are other balls’ indicates that the poet feels that it would be ____________ to console the boy.
(a) Helpful
(b) Futile
(c) Easy
(d) Shameful
Ans: (b) Futile

29. ‘What is the boy now, who has lost his ball.’
      Which feeling is expressed in this line ?
(a) Regret
(b) Cheer
(c) Happy
(d) Thrill
Ans: (a) Regret

30. The world, as mentioned in 'The Ball Poem', is one of HS 2023
(a) Balls
(b) Friends
(c) Fun
(d) Possessions
Ans: (d) Possessions

31. What is the boy now who has lost his ____ ?" Comp. 2023
(a) Pencil
(b) Ruler
(c) Bicycle
(d) Ball
Ans: (d) Ball

32. "Merrily bouncing down the street...." What is referred to as "bouncing' ? Comp. 2023
(a) A kitten
(b) A ball
(c) A balloon
(d) A puppy
Ans: (b) A ball

33. In 'The Ball Poem', the boy senses his first responsibility in a world of.... HS 2024
(a) Balls
(b) Playthings
(c) People
(d) Possessions
Ans: (d) Possessions

34. Why does the speaker in 'The Ball Poem' say that he would not intrude on the boy ? HS 2024
(a) Because he knows that another ball is worthless
(b) Because he knows that the boy would not listen to him
(c) Because he does not want to disturb the boy
(d) Because he does not know how to speak to the boy
Ans: (a) Because he knows that another ball is worthless

35. "He is learning well behind his desperate eyes..."
        What is the opposite of the underlined word ? HS 2024
(a) Disciplined
(b) Distressed
(c) Dolorous
(d) Cheerful
Ans: (d) Cheerful

36. With reference to “The Ball Poem”, choose the statement that correctly identifies the underlined words.
I would not intrude on him. HSLC 2025
(a) The poet would not intrude on the boy
(b) The passerby would not intrude on the boy
(c) The boy would not intrude on the poet
(d) The speaker would not intrude on the poet
Ans: (a) The poet would not intrude on the boy

37. What does the boy feel when he loses the ball as mentioned in The Ball Poem" ? HSLC 2025
(a) Anxious
(b) Sad
(c) Stressed
(d) Timid
Ans: (b) Sad

38. The small boy in "The Ball Poem" is experiencing - HSLC 2025
(a) Realisation
(b) Joy
(c) Elation
(d) Gladness
Ans: (a) Realisation

39. Give the meaning of the expression "The epistemology of loss" in the poem "The Ball Poem'. Comp. 2025
(a) The knowledge of the nature of loss
(b) The boy does not know what he is to do
(c) The ball cannot be retrieved
(d) The boy's sense of responsibility
Ans: (a) The knowledge of the nature of loss

40. What does the poet mean by the epistemology of loss ?
(a) It means that loss is transient
(b) It means that loss is painful
(c) It means to understand the nature of loss
(d) It means to cope with life
Ans: (c) It means to understand the nature of loss

41. In the line, "The epistemology of loss, / how to stand up," what does the poet suggest about the nature of this learning process ?
(a) It is an easy lesson learned through material possessions
(b) It is a painful and difficult process, even if the initial loss seems minor
(c) It is a lesson that can be taught by a parent or teacher
(d) It is a lesson best learned through acquiring more material things.
Ans: (b) It is a painful and difficult process, even if the initial loss seems minor.

42. The poet states, "money is external." What does this reveal about the poem's message regarding material objects and emotional value ?
(a) Money can buy any kind of happiness and peace of mind
(b) Material objects, like a ball, can have significant emotional value that money cannot replace
(c) A replacement ball, though similar, will not have the same emotional significance
(d) Both (b) and (c) are correct
Ans: (d) Both (b) and (c) are correct

43. What is the primary function of the poet's choice not to comfort the boy by buying him a new ball ?
(a) To teach him the value of saving his allowance.
(b) To demonstrate that a new ball is a better replacement for the old one
(c) To allow the boy to learn the essential life skill of coping with loss on his own
(d) To highlight the boy's lack of financial responsibility
Ans: (c) To allow the boy to learn the essential life skill of coping with loss on his own

44. Which of the following literary devices is most evident in the line, "what, what is he to do ?"
(a) Alliteration, to create a sense of rhythm
(b) Repetition for emphasis, highlighting the boy's helplessness and the poet's own confusion
(c) Personification, giving the ball a human-like quality (d) Metaphor, where the ball represents a larger concept
Ans: (b) Repetition for emphasis, highlighting the boy's helplessness and the poet's own confusion

45. The poem's ending implies that the boy has now "understood." What has he understood, and why is this a key step towards adulthood ?
(a) He has understood the monetary value of a ball and will now take better care of it
(b) He has understood that childhood innocence is something to hold onto forever
(c) He has understood that material possessions are temporary and that he must learn to cope with loss, a key life skill
(d) He has understood the poet's advice and will always follow his instructions
Ans: (c) He has understood that material possessions are temporary and that he must learn to cope with loss, a key life skill