Consider the Lilies of the Field
Personified roses, poppies, lilies and violets teach through beauty growing on thorns, overlooked virtues, purity and humility. Roadside grass, lichen, moss and weeds also testify to God's love through the dew, rain and sunshine that nourish a single seed.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Devotional Poetry, Didactic Poetry, Nature Poetry · 222 words
First lines
Flowers preach to us if we will hear: -- / The rose saith in the dewy morn, / I am most fair; / Yet all my loveliness is born / Upon a thorn. / The poppy saith amid the corn: / Let but my scarlet head appear / And I am held in scorn; / Yet juice of subtle virtue lies / Within my cup of curious dyes. / The lilies say: Behold how we / Preach without words of purity. / The violets whisper from the shade / Which their own leaves have made: / Men scent our fragrance on the air, / Yet take no heed / Of humble lessons we would read.
Genres
- Devotional Poetry — The closing stanza finds divine love in the dew, rain and sunshine that sustain even a small seed.
- Didactic Poetry — The flowers offer explicit lessons in purity, humility and virtues overlooked by those who judge appearances.
- Nature Poetry — Roses, poppies, lilies, violets and roadside plants provide the concrete subjects of both stanzas.
Tags
flowers · purity · humility · divine love · hidden virtues
What this Textopian page supports
Consider the Lilies of the Field is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Devotional Poetry, Didactic Poetry, Nature Poetry
- Length: 222 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Consider the Lilies of the Field by Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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