Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 29-32
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.
- After all that buildup, the first pitch is finally on its way. The ESPN commentators usually just say, "and here's the pitch."
- However, that's not quite dramatic enough in this context. Hence we get "the leather-covered sphere […] hurtling through the air."
- Casey watches "in haughty grandeur" as the ball speeds by. He doesn't swing because he doesn't like the pitch ("That ain't my style"). However, the pitch is a strike.
- Casey is described as "the sturdy batsman" in this stanza. This gives us the image of a strong, confident hitter. But he's also described as "haughty." This sounds negative, overconfident, and arrogant.
- This is the first time in the poem we've seen a description of Casey that could be considered negative. Is our speaker starting to turn against Casey? Let's move on and find out…