Reason (R): The lily was pale coloured.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
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 honor. 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.
Read the following statements and choose the correct option:
Assertion (A): The poets did not declare the lily as the queen of flowers.
Reason (R): The lily was pale coloured.
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Correct answer: (A) (A) is true, but (R) is not the only reason for it.
Explanation
Note: the official key accepts both (1) and (3). The bards only argued the rival claims of the rose and the lily and never crowned the lily, and the lily is described as 'pale', so both statements are true; the poem does not show paleness to be the only reason.