Read the following extract from Leigh Hunt's poem, 'The Glove and the Lions' and answer the questions that follow: And truly 'twas a gallant thing to see that crowning show, Valour and love, and a king above, and the royal beasts below.
Describe the scene at the beginning of the poem.
Topic: The opening scene
Answer
King Francis, who loved royal sport, is seated with his court to watch a fight between lions. The nobles fill the benches around the arena and the ladies sit among them, with the king smiling above them all. Below, in the pit, the lions roar and fight. Count de Lorge is present with the lady he loves, and the poet remarks that it was a gallant sight — valour and love above, and the royal beasts below.
Cover the three layers Hunt arranges deliberately: the king above, the court and lovers on the benches, the lions in the pit below. That vertical arrangement is the poem’s design — rank and civility on top, raw danger beneath — and mentioning it earns more than a plain retelling.