The Glove and the Lions

Chapter 2
By Leigh Hunt
King Francis was a
hearty king, and loved a
And one day as his lions
The nobles filled the fought, sat looking onroyalthesport,
And 'mongst them satbenches, and the ladies in theircourt;
the Count de pride,
And truly 'twas a gallant Lorge, with onefor whom he sighed:
Valour and love, and a kingthing to see that crowning show,
above, and the royal beasts
beloW.

Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing jaws;

They bit, they glared, gave blows like beams, a wind went with their paws;
With wallowing might and stifled roar they rolled on one another;
Tillall the pit with sand and mane vas in a thunderous smother;
The bloody foam above the bars came whisking through the air;
Said Francis then, "Faith, gentlemen, we're better here than there."
 D Lone's kxe oeo the King a huutevus liniy dae
WEh s g ls d shrp brigtt evs which ays smed the same;
She thx, the Count my ier is èrae as brare azn he:
He sardy aaid do amirnus things to shoe his loce of me:
King Laties krers all ak cn thc ocnasion is drvine:
rü ny my sdre to pre kis lore: grat glory will he mine.
She dryed her gie, to pre his love then laoked at hin and smiled;
He hni and in a momant lerpei ameng the lions wild:
Thc leap Squik neturn zs quick he has rgained his place,
Then thr the gloe. but nct tetth lore. right in the lady's face.
"By God szid Francis, "rightly done" and he rsc from eher he sat:
"No loe." quoth he. "but ranity, sts loe a task like that."
About the Poet
James Henry Leigh Hunt
(October 19, 1784-August 28, 1859)
Leigh Hunt was a prolifîc poet, essayist, aritic and a journalist. He was born at Southgate,
in London. He was a prominent igure during the Romantic movement in England. During
his careet, Hunt produced a large and varied body of work which incuded narrative poems,
sonnets, poetic dramas, works of literary criticism, a novel, several plays, political editorial
essavs and an autobiography. He was a contemporary of Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelly and
John Keats.
Leigh Hunt was also one of the most outspoken and effective journalists during the age of
French revolution. He was a founding partner of a radical newspaper, the Examiner. He may
be best remembered for being sentenced to prison for two years on the charges of libel against
the Prince Regent.
Hunt's poems, of which Akvu Ben Adhem' and his rondeau Jenny kissed me are probably the best known, reflect his
knowledge of French and Italian verification.
Leigh Hunt's impressive career spanned nearly 60 years. He was indeed a prolific and excellent writer.
The Glove and the Lions, is a humorous poem narrating and exposing the dangers of the domination of vanity, pride
and glory over love, in a love affair.

Summary of the Poem

Leigh Hunt in his poem The Glore and the Lions' has showcased a perilous 'royal sport ie. the fight of Lions organised to
amuse the roval audience of king, lords and ladies.
King Francis, a 'sporty ruler' is a fan of adventure games, which include brutality, ferocity and blood-shed.
Leigh describes with preision, the scene in the arena. The lions are growling and pouncing at each other, rolling over
one another. As the lions ight each other, King Francis remarks that his courtiers and himself are fortunate to only be
the spectators of such a deadly confrontation.
The nobles, of course, smile at his remark, as it was their duty to agree to whatever the king commented.
Among the audience was Count De Lorge's beloved for whom even the King sighed secretly. She was impressed by the
oyalty and grandeur of the king. She decides to drop her glove into the dangerous pit and expected her lover to jump
into it and bring it back. This would not only prove his love for the lady but also elevate her pride and glory amongst
the people present there.

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X

Falling preyto her expectation, he bowed and plunged into the pit and like a flash of light brought back the glove. He
proved his valour and love but he was not amused I with her actions. Without a word, he threw the glove at her face
of handing it to her
instead
courteously.
The kingseconds his action and comments that what he did was justified because no true lover would put her lover to
such atest, The lady was consumed with vanity and false pride, which governed her action. The king denounces the
lady's act in public, terming it futile and
senseless.
Theme of the Poem
Leigh Hunti in his poem "The GIove and the Lions' has very evidently criticised the risky games played in the royal courts
along with the games played in love for selfish beloved drops her glove in the arena where
lions arefighting aas asport to challenge her lover interests. love deandLorge's
.Count
to prove ehis fetch glory for her Herlover fulflls her expectations
without any hesitation. He jumps into the pit, risking his ife against the hungry ferocious lions and retrieves her glove.
She puts her lover's life in danger only for an extravagant, manufactured display of love and superficial assurance of his
feelings for her.
The second theme that the poet has highlighted in the poem is the ill-treatment of animals for the sake of human
pleasure. A Lion, who is the
king of the jungle, becomes a puppet tinthe hands of humans and is made to fight against
another lion. It becomes an object of entertainment for its captivators., The lions' ight also refers to the race ot superioriy
amongthe nobles of the court in order to
gain the favour of the king.
Explanation of the Poem
Stanza-1

King Francis... ...beasts below.

The poem 7he Glove and the Lions is set in the royal court of king Francis where the king, the nobleman and their ladies
have gathered to enjoy athrilling fght between the kings of the jungle ie. the lions. The courtiers are seated in their
comfortable seats while the beasts are being forced to fight for their pleasure and amusement. Metaphorically, the term
beast' also refers to the noblemen, since they too are indulged in plotting and treachery among themselves to please
the king to gain his applause and favour The poet calls the king 'hearty', referring to his light-hearted and good nature.
The king seems to be alittle distracted by the charm of the beautiful lady. She is the beloved of one of his nobles, Count
de Lorge. He sighs and longs for her affection and attention.
Stanza-2
"Ramped and roared. ...than there.
The second stanza takes the reader into the arena where the ferocious lions roared, making deadly attacks on each other.
The poet has used several poetic devices to present alively picture of the show. Visual images like blows like beams,
wind went their paws, bloody foams' and auditory presentations like »stifled roar', thunderous smother, paint a
realistic picture of the event and the reader is able to feel the tension in the pit during the 'gallant show put up at the
royal court. The lions are attacking one another fiercely. Smoke was blowing due to their rolling and ramping. They
roll on the ground and stornm at each other with the full agression. Blood spread everywhere. They roar at each other
with nasty laughing jaws. The king delightfully remarks that they were lucky to be seated at adistance. It is better to be
seated outside the arena than be in the pit with the lions. It was an extremely dangerous and scary situation.
Stanza-3
De Lorge's love... ...willbe mine.
Count De Lorge's lover, apretty and cheerful young lady, with asmile on her face, and brightly sparkling eyes, had
some thoughts traveling in her mind. She was truly impressed by the magnificence and power of the king, Adesire to
The Glove and the Lions 15
 test her own kners urage
ariscs in her mind. Her vanity gave wav to foolishness. She
as curages as the Ang, or pobably wanted to bask in happiness wished to see if her lover was
koer wubd do anrthing to display his love for her. and pride if proved right. He fully believed that her
She decides that îï was the best occasion to put her lover to
test. The
planned to rop her glove in the arena of ferocious lions and waitedaudience was present and the ground was set. She
to see her lover get it back for her.
Stanza-4
She drygol.
The lady does what she plans to do. She drops her glove in the pit of .....task like that.
with a smie who the challenge thrown by his lady-love. De the glaring lions. Then she turns towards her love
He retrieves the glove and throws it on her face. King Francis Lorge, immediately jumps amongst the lions in the arena.
approves
action of throwing of her glove at her face and justifies it by saying that it of the Count's action. He acknowledges his
would subject her love to such horrible danger. It was her pride and vanity was right of him to do so because no lover
not for once thinkor worry about his safety. She did not even think that prompted her and blinded her. She did
about his honour or his reputation if he would have
been unable to bring the glove back.
About the Poem
The poem The Glove and the Lions' comprises four stanzas. Each stanza is
of each stanza is aabbcc. The first stanza describes the setting of the poem. composed of 6 lines. The rhyming scheme
The second stanza highlights the ferocity of
the Lions and the deadly fight.
The third stanza reveals the irrational act of the lady dropping her glove in the den of
bloody lions and the fourth stanza
describes the bravery of her lover in confronting the lions and retrieving the glove. This stanza also concludes
the poem
with the Count throwing the glove at her face as a gesture of discarding her fake love and vanity.
Poetic Device
The poem is a quintessential product of the Romantic period, characterized by emotions and imaginations. The
poet
has made use of visual and audio imagery and figurative language to draw the attention of the readers and build up a
perfect drama flled with beauty, romance, valour, twist and an unexpected ending. The poem is rich in literary devices
such as symbolism and irony.
Alliteration
Figure of Speech: It is the repetition of the same constant sound at the start of consecutive words in a given line. Some
examples are:
" 1 stanza Beasts below
2nd stanza Ramped and roared'
Blows like beams
Wind went with their paws
" 3rd stanza 'seemed the same'
Visual and Auditory imagery
The movement of the lions is described in the ine They bit, they glared, gave blows like beams. This is a kinesthetic
image.
Their attack on each other is described in the line 'With swallowing night and stifled roar. The lions rolled on one
another. The menacing atmosphere inside the arena is described through the phrases "a thunderous smother and "The
bloody foam above the bars came whisking through the air."

16 LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X (

 Word/Meaning
Hearty an extremely cheerful and sporty person menber of het tarrity
queen or a
Royal naving the status of a king or
Noble belonging to a high social rank in a soiety wna h e e e s t
MK
Pride pleasure or satisfaction derived froen one
d reeling of deep depat
Sighed yearned, to have strong longing for;
to have deep breathepresng
Gallant brave; heroic
Crowning magnificent; full of splendour
Valour Personal bravery; strength of mind or spirit
Beasts animals wth frelegs Wth
threatening manneT
Ramped tO move or act furiously: to stand or advance in a
arms raised
Horrid
nasty; disgusting, shocking
Glared
to stare angrily or fiercely
Beams rays or shafts of light
Wallowing unrestrained; rolling with pleasure
Might great or overwhelming power or strength
Stifled muffled; choking
horse; lion or other animal
Mane agrowth of long hair on the neck of a
Thunderous extremely loud and deep noise
Smother a dense cloud or covering
Whisking moving suddenly and rapidly
Beauteous beautiful; very attractive to look at high
Dame a woman of high rank; status or dignity
Wondrous marvelous; wonderful
Divine supremely good
Leaped jumped; sprung
Quoth said
Vanity inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance

Multiple Choice 0uestions

1. The royal sport for which the people had gathered was:
(a) Horse riding (b) Sword fight
(c) Lion fight () Elephant fight
2. The ladies of the court were filled with:
(a) Beauty (b) Scorn
(c) Glamour (d) Pride
3. The lady dropped her glove in the arena of the fierce lions because:
(a) She was confident about the Counts' courage
(b) She wanted to show King Francis that Count De Lorge was braver than him.
(c) She wanted to gain everyone's attention to her.
() She wanted to kill De Lorge and marry king Francis.

The Glve and th

 hat he shming hme of the poem?
() abcabc
(h chacba
. T neol the king i:
(6) full of arrogance
() amusing and friendly
6. The lions have been compared to the nobleman because:
(ur Ftth ar qually rave
() Bh van he used for the entertainment of the king
( Both can be At under control
( Both need to fight anongst themseves to gain the king's applause and favour
7. The wd 'mane' refers to:
(a) the body o the kon (b) the long hair around the lion's neck area
( the dut inade the arena. () the audience who were shouting with excitement
8. King Francis makes a humorous comment that:
(a) the hons were not braver and ferocious than him
(4) the one who would jump in the arena would be rewarded
(c) they werr better in their places than in the arena
(4 the person who brings the lady's glove would be the bravest of all
9. On hearing this comment from the king the nobles:
(a) laughed at his foolishness (6) laughed to flatter him
) kooked at him with gratitude (d) sighed with relief
10. The lady decides to put her lover to the test because:
(a) she was insecure about their relationship.
(b) she dishked the Count.
() she was infatuated with the king.
() she wanted to determine if he was as courageous as the king appears to be.
11. Before leaping into the perilous den, the Count:
(a) bows to the lady (6) shouts at the lady
(c) hesitates (d) smiles at the king
2. What happened when the Count jumps into the den?
(a) The lions chase him (b) He kills both the lions
(c) He returns very quickly with the glove (d) Hereturns injured without the glove
. The Count throws the glove at the lady's face because:
(a) He was injured and frustrated (6) He was angry on her stupidity
(c) He did not respect the lady (d) He found this act offensive
On seeing this behavior of the Count, the king,
(a) scolds him and sends him away
(6) instructs him to ask for apology from the lady
(c) orders to throw the Count in the pit of lions
(a) justifies the counts' behaviou.

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X

15. According to the king, the Sady had tesed her lrver.
(ay to have hs kne foe her knowitge
(6) garner attention and show her vanity
(c) prove him a brave perscin in front of sueryne ahat te a EO T
() because she was proud of her beauty and corsutered er emets wet at.
16. The poem does not explore the theme of
(a) bravery and chivalry
(b) dangerous game of love
(c) consequence of going ton far to test someone s lowe
(d) betrayal
17. King Françis does not seem to be:
(a) full of malice and arrogance (b) fun korv ir ad
(c) a good natured king ( a sperty kz
18. When the king commented that thev were better here than there, the nolex
(a) laughed at the king (b) smiled on hs c e t
(c) started whispering to each other (A contratcted the king
19. The phrase which does not describe the fight of the lions in the arena ik
(a) blows (o) thunder toars
(c) sweat ( sand and ioth
20. The action of the lady shows her:
(a) love towards her lover (b) raving for giory
(c) desperation () feeling ot jealously gain g ma
21. The poet wants to put forth the point that a man should not:
(a) consider himself superior to other animals
(b) derive pleasure from hurting others
() gain glory or powver by putting others in danger
(d) all of the above
22. Into how many stanzas is the poem The Glove and the Lions divided?
(a) 1 (6) 2
(c) 3 () 4
23. The second stanzas describes:
(a) the wrath of fierce lions tighting with each other
(b) the arrangement at the Royal court
(c) a lover discarding his love for the lady
() the lady's plan of dropping the glove in the pit
24. The word not related to the lions:
(a) glared (0) ramped
(c) horrid
() Hearty
25. The count's decision to confront the lions show his:
(a) belief in his own abilities
(6) his willingness to task risk for the sake of love
(c) both (a) and (b)
() his patriotism

The Glove and the

 Reference toContext
Questions
King Francis UIs a hearty king, and loved a royal sport,
And one day as his lions fought, sat looking on the court;
The nohles filled the benches, and the ladies in their pride,
whom he sighed:
And 'mongst them sat the Count de Lorge, with one for
And truiy 'tvas a gallant thing to sec that crowning show,
V'alour and loe, and a king aboe, and the royal beasts below.
(a) Where does the action of the play take place and who all are present?
(6) What type of a king was Francis?
microscope? What do
(c) For whom did the king sigh? What quality of the ladies has the poet put under the
this show about the society of those times?
the
() Lions-fight' has been used as a metapho. Underline this comparison in your own words. Point out
similarity between them as highlighted by the poet.
State them.
(c) The poet has made use of certain adjectives to describe the event and the participants.
Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing jaws;
They bit, they glared, gave blows like beanms, a wind went with their paws,;
With wallowing might and stifled roar they rolled on one another;
Till all the pit with sand and mane was in athunderous smother:
The bloody foam above the bars came whisking through the air;
Said Francis then, "Faith, gentlemen, we're better here than there."
(a) Describe the visual imagery used to present the combat between the lions in the arena.
(0) The atmosphere in the pit was very dangerous What words and phrases have been used to portray the scene
and ferocity of the moment?
(c) How far do you appreciate animal fight as a sport for human entertainment? Give reasons to justify your
answer.

() What comment does king Francis make? What according to you would have been the reaction of the nobles
tothis comment? Why?
(e) The poet has made use of symbolism in the poem to give us some deeper understanding. Give some examples.
De Lorge's love o'erheard the King, a beauteous lively dame
With s1niling lips and sharp bright eyes, which always seemed the same;
She thought, the Count my lover is brave as brave can be;
He surely would do wondrous things to show his love of me;
King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the occasion is divine;
Tl drop my glove, to prove his love: great glory will be mine.
(a) Describe the beloved of De Lorge.
(6) What did she overhear? What reaction did she give to this comment?
() What opinion did she have about her lover? What according to her would her lover be ready to do?
(d) The occasion is divine' What does the lady mean by this statement. Explain.
(e) The lady plans to do something extremely dangerous. What was it? Why did she wish to do so?
She dropped her glove, to prove his love, then looked at him and smiled;
He bowed, and in a moment leaped among the lions wild:

20 LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X

 plake.
The leap was quick, return uas qusk. he has reznod es
Then threw the gle. but not witk lxe, ght tn t i latvs fke
dore and he roe frs herr he set:
"By God said Francis, "rightly
"No lote," quoth he, "but tanity. sets krv s tat lz trat
(a) Why did the lady look at the count? What did her smile indate?
(b) What was the reaction of her lover? Did he live up to her epectaton? How?
poern? Desone the i n t and the reason behind
(c) An unexpected thing happened towards the end of the
it.
(d) King Francis affirms the behaviour of the Count. How far do you agee wih hun?
ndent that tock pace.
(e) Describe the character of the Count De Lorge and his lady love on the basas cof the

The Glove