Q 01/05

How does the mighty slugger's big moment end in the final line of Casey at the Bat?

A) He strikes out

B) He hits a home run

C) He is tagged out

D) He draws a walk

Answer · why

A) He strikes out

He strikes out, swinging so hard at the last pitch that the poem says the air is shattered. Somewhere else, the narrator adds, the sun is shining and ...

Q 02/05

What is the name of the fictional town whose ball club and its star batter feature in Casey at the Bat?

A) Bugville

B) Pleasantville

C) Mudville

D) Dogpatch

Answer · why

C) Mudville

Mudville packs a crowd of 5,000 into its ballpark in the poem, all of them certain the game can be saved if one man gets a turn at the plate.

Q 03/05

Which Massachusetts-born writer published Casey at the Bat in 1888 and never wrote another famous poem?

A) Eugene Field

B) Ernest Thayer

C) Bret Harte

D) James Whitcomb Riley

Answer · why

B) Ernest Thayer

Ernest Thayer was 24 and wrote it for a newspaper humor column. American Heritage later called him a prize specimen of the one-poem poet.

Q 04/05

After the first pitch is called against Casey in Casey at the Bat, whom does a fan shout to kill?

A) The pitcher

B) The catcher

C) The manager

D) The umpire

Answer · why

D) The umpire

The umpire is saved by Casey himself, who raises a hand and quiets the furious crowd so the game can go on.

Q 05/05

What does an overconfident Casey do with the first two pitches thrown to him in Casey at the Bat?

A) Swings and misses

B) Fouls them off

C) Lets them go by

D) Bunts them foul

Answer · why

C) Lets them go by

Lets them go by: he watches both without lifting the bat, sneering that the first one is not his style, and both are called against him.