Striking Out: The Case of Mighty Casey
In Striking Out (Capps ), I explored two meanings of the phrase 'striking out.' One means to begin, advance, or proceed, especially in a new way or direction. The other, associated with baseball, means an out by a batter charged with three strikes. The book focused more on the first than t...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2016
|
| In: |
Pastoral psychology
Year: 2016, Volume: 65, Issue: 2, Pages: 167-195 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history RG Pastoral care |
| Further subjects: | B
Striking out
B Ernest Thayer B MENTAL depression B Mighty Casey B Despair B Depression B Trust B Modesty B TERMS & phrases B Self-perception B POETRY writing B Failure B Hope |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In Striking Out (Capps ), I explored two meanings of the phrase 'striking out.' One means to begin, advance, or proceed, especially in a new way or direction. The other, associated with baseball, means an out by a batter charged with three strikes. The book focused more on the first than the second meaning. In this article I take up the second meaning by considering the mythical case of 'mighty Casey,' whose strike out is portrayed in Ernest Thayer's poem Casey at the Bat (Thayer ). I suggest that at the time Thayer wrote the poem he identified personally with Casey's failure. I also use my proposal in Agents of Hope (Capps ) that failed hopes may engender a spirit of modesty to interpret the change in Casey's own self-understanding as presented in certain sequels to the original poem written by other authors. In addition, I imagine a scenario in which a local pastor, in his role of agent of hope, helps Casey deal with his despair and accompanying depression in the wake of his failure and to recover his capacity to hope. I conclude that Ernest Thayer's life also reflected a spirit of modesty. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1573-6679 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s11089-015-0670-4 |