Snake- the poem

-Poem is set in the backyard

of the poet's house where
there's a water- trough.
- Written in early 1920s
- A narrative poem- talks
about a particular situation
experienced by the poet.
- 16 stanza of varied length
- No specific rhyme pattern
followed
- Free verse- recounts a
personal incident- content
matches form.
Emphasis on the
heat that day

- "hot hot day"

- "I in pyjamas for the
heat"
- "Sicilian July"
- "Etna smoking"
- "Burning Bowels"
ALL JUSTIFYING THE CAROB TREE- commonly
SNAKE'S PRESENCE IN THE found in Italy
BACKYARD
Description

-Yellow- brown
- Slack long body
-Straight mouth
- Silent, stately, composed
-Had arrived before the
poet
- Drank softly
Comparison

-With drinking cattle

- probably a blank or a
vague look
- probably "musing" or
reflective
- or preoccupied with its
present act of drinking
water to quench thirst.
-the poet calls himself the
second comer.
THEME
• Beauty, innocence and purity of nature vs the
human world which is corrupt.
• Instinct makes the poet appreciate and respect the
snake's beauty, harmlessness and poised dignity.
• The voice of education, however, makes him
consider the snake as a mortal threat.
• The poet is not sure if it is Cowardice, Perversity or
Humility that makes him long to talk to the snake.
Reversal of age old beliefs

• "Black snakes are innocent, the gold are

venomous"-appearance is deceptive.
• The poet was honoured that the snake had sought
the poet's hospitality.
• The poet considered the snake a guest- peaceful,
pacified, thankless
• The snake is also compared to a God- its
movements slow, languid and unalarmed
The struggle

• The conflict between the poet's natural fascination

and repulsion reaches an abrupt end when he finds
himself overpowered by horror at the snake's
retreat into the horrid black hole.
The Poet's Reaction

• Puts down the pitcher and picks up a clumsy log

and threw it at the trough with a clatter.
• The snake wasn't hit
• It convulsed in undignified haste and twisted its
body like lightning and disappeared into the black
hole
The Poet's Regret
• Considers his act- paltry, vulgar and mean
• Despised himself as well as the collective voice of
the accursed human education
• Refers to the Albatross of Coleridge's The Rime of
the Ancient Mariner and wants the snake to come
back.
• Thinks of the snake as a King in exile, uncrowded in
the underworld and regrers his chance with one of
the lords of life.
Assignment

• By explaining the imagery and symbolism used in

the poem, elucidate the central theme of the
poem, Snake by D. H. Lawrence.(20)