Question

Explain – ‘And depart peaceful, pacified and thankless’.

Answer 1

The poem “Snake” by D. H. Lawrence was crafted in the year 1923 while he lived in Sicily.  The poem is scripted in a first person narrative. The poet himself is the speaker here. The tone of the poem is very much sympathetic in regards to the subject which is the snake.

Moreover, in the given line, the poet illustrates the manner in which the snake is departing- at a very peaceful pace. The poet uses words such as "pacified and thankless" for the snake because the poet believes that he has done a favor on the snake by letting him drink as much water as needed from the trough. However, the snake does not perform any gesture of appreciation, so the poet concludes that his favor remains unappreciated and unreturned.