Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Thayer Poetry, 1888 Introduction

Ernest Thayer (1863–1940) was an American poet who published the poem “Casey at the Bat” in The San Francisco Examiner under the pseudonym “Phin.” The poem’s anonymity and association with DeWolf Hopper, who recited it 10,000 times on the vaudeville stage, led to many false claims about its authorship, and only reluctantly did Thayer eventually step forward to claim the poem as his own. By then, it had become firmly imprinted on the American imagination as the quintessential baseball poem, full of hope, drama, bravado, defeat, and humor. Though some readers may be unfamiliar with at bats and innings, everyone can relate to the final sentiment: “there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.”

Using context clues, what is the definition of quintessential?

a Not important
b The most important
c Unrelated to a certain subject
d Representing the perfect example of something