Before Reading

Casey at the BatPoem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer

Do sports FANScare too much?

Sports fans love their teams. They dress in the teams’ colors, cheer wildly when great plays are made, and boo when things don’t go their way. Is this a good thing, or do sports fans care too much about winning? In “Casey at the Bat,” the fans expect only the best from their mighty hitter.

WEB IT Create an idea web of what can happen when fans care too much. List things you have read about or witnessed happening at sporting events.

Fights can break out.

What happens when fans care

too much?

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RL 4 Analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific stanza. RL 5 Analyze how a poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning.

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Ernest Lawrence Thayer1863–1940

One-Hit Wonder Although Ernest Lawrence Thayer wrote many poems for newspapers, he is remembered for just one: “Casey at the Bat.” Thayer was educated at Harvard University. Being known among his classmates as a very funny person probably helped him become editor, and later president, of the university’s humor magazine, the Lampoon.

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 fi rst printed in the paper in 1888. By the time of Thayer’s death in 1940, “Casey at the Bat” had become an American favorite.

background to the poemAmerica’s Sport Baseball began in the United States in the mid-1800s. Small towns and large cities formed teams and clubs. The fi rst baseball game with set rules was played in 1846 between Cartwright’s Knickerbockers and the New York Baseball Club. By the early 1900s, going to baseball games was a favorite pastime of people throughout the United States.

text analysis: narrative poetryLike fiction, poetry can tell stories. Poems that do so are called narrative poems. A narrative poem, just like any other story, has elements of fiction such as characters, a plot, and a setting. It presents a conflict and might also include suspense. As you read “Casey at the Bat,” identify its setting, characters, and main plot events in a diagram like the one shown. Also note the suspense that builds as you read the story.

“Casey at the Bat”

Setting: Main Plot Events:Characters:

reading strategy: reading poetryIn addition to the elements that all stories have, narrative poems include poetic elements and structure that add meaning and interest. Much of the energy and excitement of “Casey at the Bat” comes from the poet’s use of sound devices, such as repetition, rhyme, and rhythm.

• Repetition is the repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or line to emphasize something in a poem.

For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

• Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words.

It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day;The score stood two to four, with but an inning left to play.

• Rhythm is a pattern of stressed ( ) and unstressed ( ) syllables in a line of poetry.

Then from the gladdened multitude went up a joyous yell—

As you read the poem, pay attention to the sound devices. Reading the poem aloud may help you.

Review: Make Inferences

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Meet the Author

Go to thinkcentral.com.KEYWORD: HML7-133

Author Online

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It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day;The score stood two to four, with but an inning left to play.So, when Cooney died at second, and Burrows did the same,A pallor wreathed the features of the patrons of the game. a

A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest,With that hope which springs eternal within the human breast.For they thought: “If only Casey could get a whack at that,”They’d put even money now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, and likewise so did Blake,And the former was a pudd’n, and the latter was a fake.So on that stricken multitude1 a deathlike silence sat;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 the much-despised Blakey “tore the cover off the ball.”And when the dust had lifted, and they saw what had occurred,There was Blakey safe at second, and Flynn a-huggin’ third.

Then from the gladdened multitude went up a joyous yell—It rumbled in the mountaintops, it rattled in the dell;2

It struck upon the hillside and rebounded on the flat;For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. b

at the Ernest Lawrence Thayer

134 unit 1: plot, conflict, and setting

1. stricken multitude: a crowd of people affected by great trouble.

2. dell: valley.

b READING POETRYReread line 20. Why do

you think Casey’s name is repeated?

a NARRATIVE POETRYWhat is the setting of

this poem? How do you know?

Look at the picture. What can you infer about the baseball player’s attitude?

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There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place,There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile on Casey’s face;And when responding to the cheers he lightly doffed his hat,No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat. c

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt,Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;Then when the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,Defiance glanced in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur3 there.Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped;“That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one,” the umpire said. d

From the benches, filled with people, there went up a muffled roar,Like the beating of the storm waves on the stern and distant shore.“Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted someone on the stand;And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand. e

With a smile of honest charity great Casey’s visage4 shone;He stilled the rising tumult, he made the game go on;He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid5 flew;But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.”

“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and the echo answered “Fraud!”But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed;They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let the ball go by again. f

The sneer is gone from Casey’s lips, his teeth are clenched in hate,He pounds with cruel vengeance his bat upon the plate;And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,But there is no joy in Mudville: Mighty Casey has struck out.

136 unit 1: plot, conflict, and setting

3. haughty grandeur: proud majesty and splendor.

4. visage (vGzPGj): face.

5. spheroid (sfîrPoidQ): in this instance, another name for a baseball.

f READING POETRYReread lines 37–44. How

does the poet’s use of rhyme and rhythm increase the suspense in the poem?

c MAKE INFERENCESWhat inferences can you

make about Casey from what you’ve read so far?

d READING POETRYDescribe the pattern of

rhyme the poet uses in the poem.

e NARRATIVE POETRYWhat is the conflict in

this poem?

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After Reading

Comprehension 1. Recall What events occur to allow Casey a final turn at bat?

2. Recall How does Casey approach the last pitch?

3. Represent Review the poem and figure out what some of the game statistics are in the ninth inning. Include the score for each team and the number of hits and men left on base for “the Mudville nine.”

Score Hits Men Left on Base

Home

Visitor

Text Analysis4. Analyze Narrative Poetry Review the notes about setting, characters,

and plot that you included in your diagram as you read. Which of Casey’s actions build suspense and lead to the climax, or moment of greatest interest in the poem’s story?

5. Analyze Repetition A stanza is a group of lines that form a unit within a poem. Reread the last stanza and notice the word that is repeated in lines 50–51. What idea does the repeated word seem to emphasize?

6. Evaluate the Poem Why do you think this poem has remained popular for so many years?

Extension and Challenge 7. Speaking and Listening With a small group, practice reading the poem

aloud in a way that captures the excitement and suspense of the game. Then discuss how the sound devices help you add drama to your oral reading.

8. Inquiry and Research Choose a famous baseball player—such as Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron—whose accomplishments have made history. Research the player to find out when he played and on which teams, his records, and what his fans and teammates had to say about him.

Do sports FANS care too much?What are the best qualities of sports fans? Explain how such qualities can keep sports fans from caring too much about winning.

Babe Ruth1895–1948

casey at the bat 137

RL 4 Analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds on a specific stanza. RL 5 Analyze how a poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning. W 7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question.

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