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.
When King Francis exclaims, "rightly done!", what action of Count de Lorge does he applaud? Why do you think the Count behaved the way he did?
Topic: The Count's action
Answer
He applauds the Count for flinging the glove into the lady’s face. The Count had leaped into the pit, snatched up the glove and returned unharmed; then, instead of presenting it to her, he threw it straight at her face and left her. King Francis rose and declared, "No love, but vanity, sets love a task like that."
The Count behaved so because he understood that she had risked his life not out of love but to feed her own pride and win applause. He proved his courage, then rejected her publicly, showing that love cannot be demanded as a performance and that self-respect matters more than a vain woman’s favour.
4 marks: identify the action precisely (the throwing of the glove, not the retrieving of it) and then explain the motive with reference to the king’s verdict. The second half is where the marks are won — connect it to the poem’s theme that true love does not set tests, and note the deliberate order of his actions: he obeys first, then rejects, which is what makes the rebuke unanswerable.