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.
Who was the ‘beauteous lively dame’ mentioned in the poem? What did she do? What prompted her to do this?
Topic: The lady and the glove
Answer
She was the beautiful, spirited lady loved by Count de Lorge, seated beside him among the nobles.
She deliberately dropped her glove into the pit among the lions and, with a smile, looked at the Count — as good as commanding him to fetch it.
She was prompted by vanity. She wished to see her lover prove his devotion before the whole court and so win herself great glory: "I’ll drop my glove to prove his love; great glory will be mine." Her motive was self-display, not affection.
The third part carries the poem’s moral, so do not soften it: her reasoning is quoted directly in the text and it is entirely self-regarding. Making that clear sets up the ending — the Count throws the glove in her face precisely because the test was vanity dressed as love.