Abhay Bhardwaj asked 7 years ago
Why does the poet compare the moonlit room in the presence of the angel to a ‘lily in bloom’ in Leigh Hunt’s poem Abou Ben Adhem? Or, What was the effect of moonlight in Abou’s room?
The comparison of Abou Ben Adhem’s room in moonlight and in the presence of the angel to a lily in bloom is a symbolic one.
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, & like a lily in bloom,
An angel, writing in a book of gold.
Literally, Abou’s cell was filled with moonlight, making it silvery bright that resembles a white budding lily in its beauty. The presence of the angel has made a transformation of the room.
On a symbolic level, it shows the enlightenment an angel can bring to one’s life. As our author mentions it in her analysis of the poem, it conveys the potential of this encounter between Abou and the angel to bloom into something pure and noble.