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Wa0002.
Wa0002.
Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him? Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him? Was
it humility, to feel so honoured?
I felt so honoured.
And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid, But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.
He drank enough
And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken,
And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so black,
Seeming to lick his lips,
And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air,
And slowly turned his head,
And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream,
Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round
And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face.
Taormina, 1923
Analysis
In his poem "Snake," DH Lawrence examines the conflict between education, or accepted
attitudes, and the desires the people often hold.
The poem develops around the speaker's unexpected meeting with a snake. Fear and
fascination take control as he is left with the internal struggle between rational and his natural
feelings. It highlights the difference between our natural feelings and what is socially
acceptable or learned. The narrator "knows" that the snake is dangerous because “in Sicily the
black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous.” His education tells him that he
should destroy the snake, but he can't. He doesn't want to harm it because he “liked him” and
was glad “he had come like a guest in the quiet.” But the symbolism of the snake cannot be
ignored and suggests that Lawrence may have been exploring something other than simply
this snake.
Associated with evil and Satan, the snake takes on a more ominous meaning. Lawrence uses a
repetition and imagery to show that it is a really hot day. The snake has from the burning
bowels of the earth and Lawrence uses simile to say it is “Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the
underworld." The poem seems to reveal not only that Lawrence is attracted to the animal, but
also that humans are naturally attracted to evil and corruption.
In the end, his education prevails and the speaker throws at the snake. However, he
immediately regrets it and thinks himself “paltry”, “vulgar”, and “mean.” Immediately he
despises himself for his action and feels a need to make amends.