"The Flowers" was written by Victorian author William Brighty Rands and originally published as part of a collection of poetry for children. A sweet, parable-like poem, "The Flowers" celebrates love as a force for good in the world while condemning the destructive nature of selfishness and greed. When a personified "Love" scatters flowers over the earth, "Greed" eagerly scoops them all up for himself—crushing the flowers in the process. Greed decides he's unimpressed with his bounty and tosses the ruined flowers to the ground, where they're then discovered by a group of children. The children's touch makes the flowers bloom anew with brilliant, "burn[ing]" color. Love, the poem implies, is something that deserves to be celebrated, cherished, and shared.
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The Full Text of “The Flowers”
1When Love arose in heart and deed
2To wake the world to greater joy,
3"What can she give me now?" said Greed,
4Who thought to win some costly toy.
5He rose, he ran, he stoop'd, he clutch'd;
6And soon the Flowers, that Love let fall,
7In Greed's hot grasp were fray'd and smutch'd,
8And Greed said, "Flowers! Can this be all?"
9He flung them down and went his way,
10He cared no jot for thyme or rose;
11But boys and girls came out to play,
12And some took these and some took those—
13Red, blue, and white, and green and gold;
14And at their touch the dew return'd,
15And all the bloom a thousandfold—
16So red, so ripe, the roses burn'd!
The Full Text of “The Flowers”
1When Love arose in heart and deed
2To wake the world to greater joy,
3"What can she give me now?" said Greed,
4Who thought to win some costly toy.
5He rose, he ran, he stoop'd, he clutch'd;
6And soon the Flowers, that Love let fall,
7In Greed's hot grasp were fray'd and smutch'd,
8And Greed said, "Flowers! Can this be all?"
9He flung them down and went his way,
10He cared no jot for thyme or rose;
11But boys and girls came out to play,
12And some took these and some took those—
13Red, blue, and white, and green and gold;
14And at their touch the dew return'd,
15And all the bloom a thousandfold—
16So red, so ripe, the roses burn'd!
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“The Flowers” Summary
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“The Flowers” Themes
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Love vs. Greed
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Flowers”
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Lines 1-4
When Love arose in heart and deed
To wake the world to greater joy,
"What can she give me now?" said Greed,
Who thought to win some costly toy. -
Lines 5-8
He rose, he ran, he stoop'd, he clutch'd;
And soon the Flowers, that Love let fall,
In Greed's hot grasp were fray'd and smutch'd,
And Greed said, "Flowers! Can this be all?" -
Lines 9-12
He flung them down and went his way,
He cared no jot for thyme or rose;
But boys and girls came out to play,
And some took these and some took those— -
Lines 13-16
Red, blue, and white, and green and gold;
And at their touch the dew return'd,
And all the bloom a thousandfold—
So red, so ripe, the roses burn'd!
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“The Flowers” Symbols
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The Flowers
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“The Flowers” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Juxtaposition
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Parataxis
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Personification
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Repetition
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“The Flowers” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Arose
- Deed
- Stoop'd
- Clutch'd
- Grasp
- Fray'd and Smutch'd
- Jot
- Thyme
- Thousandfold
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Flowers”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Flowers” Speaker
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“The Flowers” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Flowers”
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More “The Flowers” Resources
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External Resources
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William Brighty Rands and the Victorian Era — Read more about the poet's life and the era in which he lived.
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Lilliput Lyrics — Check out William Brighty Rands's collection of children's verse, complete with illustrations.
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William Brighty Rands Website — A website devote to Rands, deemed the "Laureate of the Nursery."
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The Victorian Era — Dive deeper into the time period in which Rand wrote, which was marked by sweeping changes across Britain.
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