Read the poem and answer the following questions.
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
The word languid in the line “whose rays five languid fingers were” means
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → weak and slow-moving
Languid means weak, slow and without energy.
- The “stranded star” is a starfish. Stranded means left stuck on the shore, out of the water.
- Its five arms are its “rays”, and the poem calls them fingers.
- Out of the sea, these fingers lie limp and move only slowly. Example: In the May heat, the dog lay languid under the neem tree.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: stiff and firm — Incorrect. Opposite meaning: stiff and firm means hard and not bending. A languid thing is soft and loose.
Option 2: bright and shining — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: the word “star” may make one think of light. But languid is about how something moves, not how it shines.
Option 4: sharp and pointed — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: this describes shape. The arms of a starfish do come to a point. But languid tells us they are weak and slow.