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 honour. 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

Who were the rivals for the queenship?

Question

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 honour. 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

Who were the rivals for the queenship?

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The correct option is 1: The rose and the lily.

This answer is directly supported by the initial lines of the poem, which is generally known as "The Lotus" by Toru Dutt, a prominent 19th-century Indian poet. The poem is a mythological dialogue set in Psyche's bower, where Love asks Flora, the goddess of flowers, to name the undisputed queen of flowers. The core conflict, or rivalry, is explicitly established in the first stanza: "The lily and the rose, long, long had been Rivals for that high honour." This "high honour" is the queenship of flowers. The subsequent lines detail the claims and arguments made on behalf of these two flowers. The rose is praised for its deliciousness (beauty and scent), while the lily is lauded for its stately height and pale, majestic appearance, likened to Juno (the Roman queen of the gods, known for her regal mien). This historical, ongoing competition between the rose and the lily is the central premise that prompts Love's request and Flora’s ultimate decision to create the Lotus, a flower combining the best attributes of both rivals. Understanding the poem’s foundational premise—the classic literary debate over whether the rose or the lily is superior—is crucial for answering this comprehension question accurately.

The incorrect option is 2: The flower factions.
While the poem mentions "Flower factions rang the strife," the flower factions are a collective group *supporting* the two actual rivals, not the rivals themselves. The factions represent the division among the bards and admirers who debated the claims of the lily and the rose, but the individuals or flowers at the heart of the contest were clearly the lily and the rose.

The incorrect option is 3: Juno and Psyche.
Juno and Psyche are mythological figures referenced in the poem's setting and context, but they are not the flowers vying for the queenship. Juno is mentioned as a comparison for the lily’s majestic appearance ("Juno mien"), and Psyche's bower is merely the location where the strife among the flower factions takes place. They serve a metaphorical and narrative function but are not the rivals.

The incorrect option is 4: The lotus and the lily.
The lotus is the final flower created and crowned queen by Flora, not one of the original rivals. The Lotus is the resolution to the conflict, as it combines the "rose-red" color and "lily-white" pride, thereby settling the long-standing dispute between the two pre-existing contestants, the lily and the rose. The rivalry was a historical fact that led to the Lotus's creation.