summary of snake class 10 ncert
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One hot afternoon the poet went to the water trough to fill water in a pitcher. Suddenly, he noticed a snake there. He waited for the snake to quench his thirst since the poet thought that he was a second comer. The snake kept his throat upon the stone bottom sipped the water into his slack long body. After drinking water, he raised his head just like cattle do and flashed his forked tongue, thought for a moment and then bent down to drink some more water. The voice of his education said that the golden brown snakes are poisonous and must be killed. However, the poet instinctively liked the snake, treated him like a guest and felt honored that it had come to drink at his water trough. The voices of education inside the poet told him not daring to kill the snake proved that he was a coward. After drinking enough water, the snake raised its head and started to move away from water trough. As the snake put his head into a crack to retreat into the earth, the poet was filled with a protest against the idea of the snake withdrawing into his hole. The poet put down his pitcher, picked up a log and hurled it at the snake. The snake twisted violently and vanished into the hole in the wall like a lightening. The poet felt guilty of his mean act. The poet instantly felt sorry for his unrefined act and cursed the voices of education that urged him to kill the snake. The poet compared himself with the ancient mariner who had killed the albatross without any reason. He wished that the snake would come back. He treats the snake as a king in exile to be crowned again. Finally, the poet regrets having missed his opportunity with the lords of life.
D. H. Lawrence is well-known as a novelist, critic, poet, story-writer and painter. He composed this poem in 1923 and gives the details when he was confronted by a snake in Sicily.
The poem is written in free verse and is unrhymed. A snake visited the poet’s water-trough on a hot afternoon to quench his thirst. The poet had also gone there to fill water in a pitcher. He waited for the snake since he had come at the trough prior to the poet.
The snake sipped water into his long body. As he was drinking water, the poet was reminded of his education and social conventions which said that the golden brown poisonous snake must be killed.
However, the poet instinctively liked the snake, treated him like a guest and did not kill him. The voice of education inside the poet told him that it was the fear of the snake that made him refrain from killing him.
After drinking water to its satisfaction, the snake raised his head, looked around and proceeded to curve round and move away from the water trough.
As he put his head into the hole to retreat into the earth, the poet was filled with a protest against the idea of the snake withdrawing into his hole. The poet put down his pitcher, picked up a log and hurled it at the snake. The snake twisted violently and vanished into the hole.
The poet instantly felt sorry for this act and cursed the voice that had urged him to kill the snake. He felt much like the Ancient Mariner who had killed the Albatross for no reason.
He wished that the snake would come back. He regretted having missed the opportunity of knowing one of the lords of life. He was guilt-ridden and felt that he had to atone for the measure of his action of throwing a log at the snake.