Multiple choice

What does the poet mean by the expression 'as tight-closed as a tiny bud'?

Directions: Read the poem and answer the given question.

UNFOLDING BUD

One is amazed
By a water-lily bud
Unfolding
With each passing day
Taking a richer colour
And new dimensions
One is not amazed,
At a first glance,
By a poem,
Which is as tight-closed
As a tiny bud.
Yet one is surprised
To see the poem
Gradually unfolding,
Revealing its rich inner self
As one reads it
Again
                                                Naoshi Koriyama

  1. A poem is as beautiful as a bud.

  2. A poem starts with some hidden meaning that will gradually come out.

  3. It is amazing to read a poem from the very beginning.

  4. It is an exciting experience to see a bud blossoming into a flower.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The phrase 'as tight-closed as a tiny bud' means that at first glance, a poem appears closed and its deeper meaning is hidden, just like a tiny bud is closed and its inner beauty is not yet visible. The poem uses this simile to explain that a poem's true meaning must be gradually discovered through reading, just as a bud's beauty is gradually revealed as it blooms. Option A is incorrect because the comparison is about hidden meaning, not just beauty. Option C misses the point about hidden meaning. Option D is about the bud itself, not what 'tight-closed' means for the poem.

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