Casey at the Bat
By: Ernest Lawrence Thayer
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 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 multitude 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;
It struck upon the hillside and rebounded on the flat;
For Casey, mighty Casey was advancing to the bat.
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."
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 grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped;
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.
From the benches, black 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.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult, he made the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid 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.
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.
About the Author, Ernest Lawrence Thayer:
Ernest Thayer was a student at Harvard University but its not surprising that "Casey at the Bat" is written like a sports story. The poet, Ernest Lawrence Thayer, worked for many years as a sports reporter in New York. "Casey at the Bat" first appeared in San Francisco in 1888 and became very popular. Now "Casey at the Bat" is the most popular baseball poem ever written.
What is this poem about
- This poem is about a baseball game in a place named Mudville, which seemed to be in the mountains. Casey was known for being amazing with a bat in his hand and the whole crowd knew it. On that day Casey had a chance to win the game for Mudville. There were runners on second and third with 2 outs in the last inning. Casey only had to hit the ball past the outfielders and he would have won the game, but mighty Casey struck out.
Figurative Language:
- In Line 1 where he says "It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day" that is a metaphor because they were just playing bad
- In Line 3 where it says "Cooney died at second, and Burrows did the same" they did not actually died, they just got out at second
- The ninth stanza contains a simile in the description of the roar of the crowd. The author says the roar is "like the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore." The simile emphasizes the volume and intensity of the crowd's response after Casey takes a first strike.
- In the fifth stanza of the poem, hyperbole describes the crowd's noise to Casey. The yell "rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell." The yell is also described as "pounding on the mountain and recoiling upon the flat." The author's use of hyperbole demonstrates how loud the roar of the crowd is.
- In the seventh stanza personification is used to say tongues applaud as Casey steps into the batter's box and wipes his hands on his shirt.
- There was also lots of rhyming used in this poem