Interactive Lesson: Interflora

📝 Lesson Summary

The poem Interflora by Robert B. is a funny poem that mixes old-fashioned romance with modern technology. Instead of giving real flowers, the writer sends a fake, "virtual" bouquet through email. The poet uses irony to surprise readers who expect a normal love poem. Looking at how it is built, the poem changes from a boring, normal email format into a strict pattern of rhyming lines. This sudden change in style is meant to make fun of classic love poems, like Shakespeare's sonnets, which usually say that true poetry can make love last forever and never fade away.

Instead of showing deep, lasting love and real beauty, the writer sends a quick, easy, and completely emotionless computer file. It even includes cold, robotic instructions telling the reader to click, drag, and press "Control" to feel the romance. The biggest joke happens at the very end of the poem. Instead of a grand, romantic goodbye, the poem gives a harsh, unromantic command: just press "Delete" if you don't like the gift. In the end, Interflora makes fun of how technology takes the real effort, closeness, and beauty out of human relationships, leaving something that lasts forever but feels totally empty. Sending this to "E.B.B." (a famous, very serious love poet from history) makes the joke even funnier.

🎯 Lesson Focus

✔ Analyze Structure: Investigate the poem's meter, rhyme scheme, and form to determine if it aligns with a traditional sonnet.
✔ Analyze Irony: Identify examples of humor and explain how the poet uses irony to subvert romantic expectations.

Interflora

👆 Click highlighted words to reveal structure and irony notes!

From Robert B. @ mailexcite dot com To E.B.B. @ virgin dot uk: Please find herewith as proof of my esteem a customized, fresh, virtual bouquet. 5For scent please click on cellophane and press *Control*. To read the message on the tag highlight the print, click on *Encrypt Reverse*. To unwrap blooms and place in vase use *Drag*. My flowers sent, beloved, in this way, 10won't fade, stink of mortality's decay. Petals won't wilt to husks nor leaves to slime; these on-line flowers for you will outlast Time. But if, my love, this gift seems incomplete and does not touch your heart, then press *Delete*.

Critical Thinking Framework

Structural and Thematic Analysis

Test your analytical skills using telling details, pivotal phrases, compelling evidence, and powerful openings.

Telling Details:

How does the poem's structural shift at line 9 ("My flowers sent...") function as a telling detail regarding its form?

A It establishes a traditional ABAB rhyme scheme.

B It introduces a series of rhyming couplets, abruptly breaking away from the unstructured free verse of the opening email lines.

C It abandons all structure to become a prose paragraph.

Compelling Evidence:

Which of the following provides the most compelling evidence that the poet is using irony to create humor?

A "Petals won't wilt to husks nor leaves to slime;"

B "My flowers sent, beloved, in this way,"

C "For scent please click on cellophane and press *Control*."

Pivotal Words and Phrases:

Analyze the pivotal word "*Delete*" at the end of the poem. What is its ultimate thematic effect?

A It bluntly undercuts the romantic permanence promised earlier, ending the relationship with an emotionless keystroke.

B It proves that the speaker wants to protect their privacy from hackers.

C It represents the traditional poetic farewell found in historical sonnets.

Powerful Openings:

Why is the opening "From Robert B. @ mailexcite dot com" considered a powerful opening for this specific parody?

A It sets a mysterious tone for a thriller poem.

B It immediately shatters the expectation of flowery, romantic language by using mundane digital email formatting.

C It proves that Robert B. is a famous historical poet.

Telling Details:

The speaker sends a "virtual bouquet" instead of real flowers. What does this telling detail reveal about the speaker's effort?

A They are incredibly wealthy and bought premium digital art.

B They care deeply about the environment and avoiding waste.

C The gesture is cheap, fast, and lacks the genuine effort and expense of a real romantic gesture.

Compelling Evidence:

Which line provides the best evidence that the speaker ironically believes his digital gift is superior to nature?

A "these on-line flowers for you will outlast Time."

B "To unwrap blooms and place in vase use *Drag*."

C "Please find herewith as proof of my esteem"

Pivotal Words and Phrases:

How does the poet's use of technical jargon (*Control*, *Encrypt Reverse*, *Drag*) affect the overall tone?

A It makes the poem sound highly intelligent and romantic.

B It creates a cold, clinical, and mechanical tone that contrasts hilariously with the concept of blooming flowers.

C It shows that the poem was written in the 1800s.

Telling Details:

What is the structural effect of the end rhymes (way/decay, slime/Time, incomplete/Delete)?

A They prove the poet didn't know how to write a real sonnet.

B They create a slow, mournful rhythm.

C They mimic the forced, tidy structure of classical poetry while delivering a deeply unromantic message.

Powerful Openings:

The recipient is "E.B.B." (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a famous traditional romantic poet). How does this recipient choice create deeper irony?

A Sending a lazy, digital mock-poem to one of history's most famous writers of deep, emotional sonnets highlights the absurdity of the speaker's gesture.

B It shows that Elizabeth Barrett Browning invented email.

C It implies the speaker is actually her historical husband.

Compelling Evidence:

Classical sonnets often discuss love conquering the fading of physical beauty. Which line mocks this trope by being overly graphic?

A "But if, my love, this gift seems incomplete"

B "won't fade, stink of mortality's decay."

C "a customized, fresh, virtual bouquet."