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My admiration for Casey at the Bat is boundless. I still remember as a child when I first heard the poem--read to me by my father in his study. The surprise ending took me totally by surprise; I was breathless.
Casey at the Bat is a small miracle of poetry. With economy and gradeur it raises the dramatic tension to incredible heights. You're right there with the Mudville 5,000. I also swoon over the King James mimicry. Casey is Moses raising his arm and quieting the 5,000! GENIUS.
The poem is also a lesson to ingoramuses who think our forebears were not much the same as us. Ernest Thayer's poem was first published in 1888. 122 years have passed, but a batter's mannerisms in the box(picking up the sand, rubbing hands together and then on the shirt), a pitcher's mannerisms (twitching, staring down the batter, grinding the ball into the hip), the dynamics between fans and their hero athletes and the refs ("kill the umpire!"), are exactly the same today.
I heard about this book on NPR and bought it:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Casey-at-Bat-Visions-Poetry/dp/155337827X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272134291&sr=1-4"]Amazon.com: Casey at the Bat (Visions in Poetry) (9781553378273): Ernest L Thayer, Joe Morse: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BUrsoXrbL.@@AMEPARAM@@51BUrsoXrbL[/ame]
It's a small press doing illustrated versions of great poems for kids and young adults. (I also got the Raven and Jabberwocky; terrific.) The illustrations demonstrate the timelessness of this poem. Now Casey is a star for an inner-city sandlot or minor league team (kind of a hybrid, really). Fans of the Mudville Nine are in bleachers and also hanging out of apartment balconies, etc. The players are multiethnic; Casey's own race is ambiguous but he is a majestic looking fellow. The final shot with him on his knees in the dirt seen through the back stop--looking literally like a once proud caged animal--is not to be forgotten. Highly recommended.
Casey at the Bat is a small miracle of poetry. With economy and gradeur it raises the dramatic tension to incredible heights. You're right there with the Mudville 5,000. I also swoon over the King James mimicry. Casey is Moses raising his arm and quieting the 5,000! GENIUS.
The poem is also a lesson to ingoramuses who think our forebears were not much the same as us. Ernest Thayer's poem was first published in 1888. 122 years have passed, but a batter's mannerisms in the box(picking up the sand, rubbing hands together and then on the shirt), a pitcher's mannerisms (twitching, staring down the batter, grinding the ball into the hip), the dynamics between fans and their hero athletes and the refs ("kill the umpire!"), are exactly the same today.
I heard about this book on NPR and bought it:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Casey-at-Bat-Visions-Poetry/dp/155337827X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272134291&sr=1-4"]Amazon.com: Casey at the Bat (Visions in Poetry) (9781553378273): Ernest L Thayer, Joe Morse: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BUrsoXrbL.@@AMEPARAM@@51BUrsoXrbL[/ame]
It's a small press doing illustrated versions of great poems for kids and young adults. (I also got the Raven and Jabberwocky; terrific.) The illustrations demonstrate the timelessness of this poem. Now Casey is a star for an inner-city sandlot or minor league team (kind of a hybrid, really). Fans of the Mudville Nine are in bleachers and also hanging out of apartment balconies, etc. The players are multiethnic; Casey's own race is ambiguous but he is a majestic looking fellow. The final shot with him on his knees in the dirt seen through the back stop--looking literally like a once proud caged animal--is not to be forgotten. Highly recommended.
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