Question

summary of the lesson the snake

Answer 1

This poem of D.H. Lawrence describes the dual response of the poet to a snake that came to his water-trough to quench his thirst. There is a conflict between his civilized social education and his natural human instincts. The ‘voices’ of the civilized social education tell him that brown-golden snake is poisonous and must be killed. But his natural human instincts lead him to think that the snake was a guest who had sought his hospitality. In the end, his natural human instincts win and he regrets at his ‘paltry’, ‘vulgar’ and ‘mean’ act of throwing a log of wood at the snake who had come to seek his hospitality.

Answer 2

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.