Vocabulary
Characters
Creative Writing
Summarizing
Anything Goes!
100
Bold disregard of authority or opposition; open resistance to power. In the story Casey displayed this toward the pitcher when he prepared to take his at-bat.
What is "DEFIANCE?"
100
Casey
Who is the main character of the story?
100
That a Mudville player named Cooney got out at first.
What does it really mean when it says "Cooney died at first," in the poem?
100
Mudville loses the game 4 to 2.
How does the game end for Mudville?
100
Third person.
From what point of view is this poem told?
200
Extreme Greatness, Majesty, Dignity, or Splendor. In the story, Casey looked at the ball speeding through the air, knew the crowd's tension, and was confident that he would deliver his team to victory. A person visiting the Grand Canyon might have a sense of this.
What is "Grandeur?"
200
They are the two teammates of Casey's that got out before it was his turn to bat.
Who are Cooney and Barrows?
200
It means "to take off your hat and wave it to the crowd because you're about to do something great," in this story.
What does "DOFFED" mean in the story?
200
Casey angrily, intently gets ready for the third pitch. He then swings at it extremely hard!
How would you summarize what happens on p335 the second stanza?
200
A person's facial expression or appearance.
What does "Casey's visage shone" really mean?
300
Being too proud or arrogant. In the story, the look on Casey's face as he strode to the plate, showed this. In class, we looked at an image of a business man that seemed to think of himself with very high regard.
What is "HAUGHTY?"
300
Both get on base instead of making the final out of the game, which allows Casey to have a chance to bat and help Mudville win the game.
Who are Flynn and Jimmy Blake?
300
Casey says this to show that he didn't want to swing at the first pitch.
What does it mean "that ain't my style?"
300
They're sad at first as their team seems doomed to lose. Next they're excited because Casey, their star hitter, is going to get a chance to bat (and hopefully win the game for Mudville). They're angry when the ump calls a strike on Casey. Finally, they're sad again when Casey strikes out and they lose the game.
How would you summarize the crowd's emotions throughout the poem?
300
These things are said to make the outcome more suspenseful and contrasting to what's expected.
Why does the author say that somewhere the sun is shining, somewhere the band is playing, and somewhere hearts are light towards the end of the poem?
400
Showing disrespect or contempt; mocking. In the story, after strike 2 was called, the fans were mad and yelled at Casey. He looked back at the crowd in this manner, and they were awed.
What is "SCORNFUL?"
400
The Mudville fans wanted this after the umpire called strike one against Casey.
What is "they wanted him killed?"
400
It's another way the author describes a baseball being pitched to the batter in the third line of the third stanza on page 333.
What does "once more the spheroid flew" mean?
400
Casey at the Bat became popular by accident (when an actor read Thayer's poem during a special performance about baseball). People loved it after this.
Summarize how Casey at the Bat became popular.
400
This means that the pitcher was getting ready to deliver the pitch to Casey. (He likely was going to try to throw it as hard as he could.)
What does the author mean by "the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip?"
500
Loss of hope, hopeless feeling, dreadful feeling that nothing good can happen. This sort of feeling comes from deep pain that could be caused by such things as death in the family, loss of a job, abuse, etc.
What is "DESPAIR?"
500
The author of Casey at the Bat, who wrote the poem for a newspaper and had it become famous only after an actor read the poem during a performance at the theater.
Who is Ernest Lawrence Thayer?
500
The author leads us to think that because Casey is confident in himself and a star player that he will get the game winning hit for Mudville, right up to the very end of the poem.
Why is 'Casey striking out' a surprise?
500
Mighty Casey has struck out.
What is the most important phrase of the final stanza of the poem?
500
This means that a person hit the ball extremely hard!
What does it really mean to tear "the cover off the ball?"
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