Love came to Flora asking for a flower That would of flowers be undisputed queen, The lily and the rose,

Question

 Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow :

Love came to Flora asking for a flower
That would of flowers be undisputed queen,
The lily and the rose, long long had been
Rivals for that high honour. Bards of power.
Had sung their claims. “The rose can never tower
Like the pale lily with her Juno mien”.
“But is the lily lovelier?” Thus between
Flower faction rang the strife in Psyche’s bower.
“Give me a flower delicious as the rose
And stately as the lily in her pride”.
“But of what colour?”- “Rose red,” Love first chose,
Then prayed, – “No, lily-white, – or both provide”;
And Flora gave the lotus, “rose red” dyed
And “lily white,” queenliest flower that blows.

[Love went to Flora, the goddess of vegetation and requested her to give him the queenliest flower for his beloved. Some bards sang of the rose as the undisputed king of flowers. Others sang of lily as the proudest. Flora gave the lover lotus having both rose and white shades]

1. What does Love ask Flora for ?

2. “The lily and the rose, long long had been Rivals for that high honour”…… Interpret the extract.

3. What does the lily symbolize ?

4. Who had sung for the rose and the lily?

5. List the similes the poet has used in the poem.

Answer 1

1. Love asks Flora to give him a flower that could be made the queen of flowers,

2. The lily and the rose had been the two rivals for the high honour for a long time.

3. The lily symbolizes purity and innocence.

4. The bards have sung for both the rose and the lily.

5. ‘Like the pale lily’, ‘delicious as a rose’, ‘stately as the lily’ are the examples of simile in the poem.