Why does D. H. Lawrence refer to the albatross in the poem, "Snake ...
Answers
David Herbert Lawrence alludes to another famed poem by Coleridge 'The ancient Mariner' in which an old sailor kills the bird that helps him, and is then made to suffer for his isn. Similarly, the speaker in the poem 'Snake' criticises himself for attacking a defenceless creature who had not harmed him. The irony of the poem lies in the fact that the speaker considers attacking the snake as it would be cowardice to not do so, as his civilized rationality tells him: “If you were not afraid, you would kill him”. But the real cowardice lies in the fact that the speaker attacks a blameless, innocent creature who had not harmed him, and attacked him then when ‘his back was turned’. Thus Lawrence potrays clearly Man's relationship with Nature, and how Man destroys Nature who does not harm him.
Did I help you? If so, please mark it as brainliest.
Answer:
The snake is unaware of the presence of the poet and in its natural way, quenches its thirst and withdraws into the hole in the wall.
When the snake is on its way into the hole, the poet is terrorized at the thought of the snake withdrawing into a world of darkness. He picks up a log of wood, hurls it at the snake.
He misses it but the snake senses danger and disappears into the hole in a haste.
The poet is still fascinated by the snake, but a sense of guilt grips him. He regrets his act of trying to hit the snake. He finds a similarity between this feeling of repentance to that of the ancient mariner who had killed the Albatross.