Directions : Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
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 honor. 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-factions 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’, the queenliest flower that blows.
Identify the rhyme scheme in lines 1 – 4.
Correct Answer :
abba
Solution :
The correct option is abba.
To determine the rhyme scheme of lines 1 – 4 of the poem, let us examine the ending sound of each line:
Line 1: "Love came to Flora asking for a flower" → Ending sound: -ower (assigned label: a)
Line 2: "That would of flowers be undisputed queen," → Ending sound: -een (assigned label: b)
Line 3: "The lily and the rose, long, long had been" → Ending sound: -een (rhymes with "queen", assigned label: b)
Line 4: "Rivals for that high honor. Bards of power" → Ending sound: -ower (rhymes with "flower", assigned label: a)
Comparing the sequence of end-rhymes for lines 1 through 4 gives us: a - b - b - a.
Therefore, the rhyme scheme for lines 1 – 4 is abba.
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