McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXXVIII · Part 9: Comedy, Milton, Whittier and Shakespeare's taverns
94. The Glove and the Lions (Leigh Hunt)
Goal: Your student can tell the story of the poem and explain the king's judgment.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
Leigh Hunt's short ballad: a lady throws her glove among fighting lions to test her knight's love, and the knight's answer. A note identifies the king.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Read the notes printed at the end of the lesson together before reading. The book explains, among others:
King Francis: Francis I of France (1494–1547), who was devoted to sports of this kind
Ask your student to find two other hard words in the lesson, guess their meaning from the sentence, then check a dictionary.
About the author
The book says Leigh Hunt (1784–1859) wrote essays, poems, plays, novels and criticism for fifty years. His mother was American. With his brother he started The Examiner newspaper; they were fined and jailed for two years for articles offensive to the government. He was a friend of Byron, Shelley, Moore and Keats.
Read aloud
Read the poem with energy. It moves fast, like the leap of the knight.
Listen for these lines:
King Francis was a hearty king, and loved a royal sport,
And one day, as his lions fought, sat looking on the court;
Talk about it
SayWhy did the lady throw her glove among the lions?
SayWhat did the knight do, and what did he do with the glove afterward?
SayWhat did the king say? Do you agree with him?
SayWhat is the difference between love and vanity in this poem?
Narration
Your student tells the story of the poem in four sentences.
Memorize or copy
Learn the king's judgment:
"No love," quoth he, "but vanity, sets love a task like that."