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In this lengthy blank verse poem, Lawrence describes an incident in his life in which he comes across a
snake at his water trough in Sicily.
Immediately he is caught between two forces: one which demands that he should kill the snake; the other
which demands admiration for it.
Lawrence eventually hurls a log at the snake, and the reptile quickly slithers away into a crack in a garden
wall. Immediately the poet is angry with himself for allowing the voices of social prejudice to get the better
of him.
Indeed, he realises that he has missed such a wonderful opportunity to play host to one of the most
beautiful creatures in life.
ABOUT THE POET
David Herbert Lawrence was born in Nottinghamshire in September 1885, the fourth child of an
uneducated coal miner.
This working class background, together with constant friction with his illiterate and drunken father,
provided him much material for his later poetry, novels and short stories.
He initially went to Beauvale Board School but then won a scholarship to attend Nottingham High School.
His first employment was as a junior clerk at a surgical appliances factory until forced to resign because
of T.B. It was during his period of convalescence that he gained his extreme love for reading, writing and
poetry.
From 1902 to 1906, he served as a student teacher in his hometown of Eastwood, whereupon he studied
and acquired a teaching certificate from University College Nottingham.
It was during those years that he wrote his first poems, some short stories, and a novel which was
published as The White Peacock.
The young Lawrence hated teaching -- a theme made clear in his poem "Last Lesson of the
Afternoon" -- but luckily his writing ability caught the eye of major publishers which enabled him to
follow a professional career as a writer and an artist.
During the time of the 1st World War, Lawrence was accused of spying for the Germans and was
constantly harassed by the British authorities. As soon as the war ended, therefore, he left England to live
in Italy.
He died of T.B. in March 1930 while at a sanatorium in France. He was just 45 years of age.
He had achieved a massive reputation as a novelist and a poet. His most famous books were Sons
and Lovers and Lady Chatterly's Lover.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there."
- Comment on the fact that the poet was wearing pyjamas? (4)
[Need help?]
It would normally be rather strange to see a man walking about his garden in the broad daylight while
wearing pyjamas! Of course, the poet quickly explains the reason: it was so very hot that pyjamas were
cooler, probably because they were of a lighter, flimsier material and were more baggy than ordinary
clothes and therefore trapped the air inside, making them slightly cooler.
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"He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall
in the gloom
And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down,
over the edge of the stone trough
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a
small clearness,
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack
long body,
Silently."
- What is sibilance? Comment on its use in this stanza? (4)
[Need help?]
Sibilance is the repetition of the "s" sound, a more specific form of alliteration. It is used particularly to
produce an onomatopoeic effect: in this case, the hissing of the snake. It is also sometimes used for
such a thing as the hissing of steam.
Be aware of course that the snake in this poem does not actually hiss at all! Hissing is a threatening
noise, but the snake here is silent and in no way threatening.
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- What is meant by "gloom"? Why does the poet choose to use this word? (4)
[Need help?]
"Gloom" literally means "darkness". But there is a negative connotation to the word as if the
snake, in coming out of the dark hole, is emerging from a place that is not liked, about which there is
uncertainty.
Is the poet somehow connecting the gloom with hell, the snake being associated with the serpent of
Eden? Of course, Lawrence does not believe this but is he attempting to associate the snake immediately
with the voices of education. After all, most educated people appear to link snakes with evil.
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- Why does the poet repeat the word "straight"? (4)
[Need help?]
The repetition of a word usually has the effect of emphasis. The poet wants to emphasise the
straightness of the snake's mouth and gums.
"Straight" also means "good" or "upright". Is the poet perhaps wishing to draw an
analogy to the snake's innocence as opposed to the deviance of supposedly educated people?
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"Someone was before me at my water-trough,
And I, like a second comer, waiting."
- The poet uses the word "someone" instead of "something". Why? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet is attempting to turn the snake from a slithery -- perhaps evil -- creature into a person. The
snake is no longer just a guest, but a guest which is equal to any human guest.
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"Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning
bowels of the earth
On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking."
- What is the point of the poet's saying "burning bowels"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Burning bowels" is an example of alliteration, the repetition of certain consonants. In this case the
alliterated "b" has a harsh effect, as if the snake is emerging from an obscene location. The use
of the word "bowels" further adds to the obscenity!
The fact that the area is volcanic enhances this image. Beneath the land -- in the bowels of the earth
-- is volcanic magma. So the snake is emerging from a location of volcanic activity.
It is also possible that Lawrence is immediately attempting to connect the snake with the traditional
concept of an evil creature, coming straight up from the fires of hell. In the end, however, one realises
that the poet does NOT associate the snake with evil at all but rather with goodness.
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- Apart from the fact that the poet lived there, how do you know that this incident took place in
Italy? (2)
[Need help?]
What about the word "Sicily"? Isn't it part of Italy? And what about the words "with Etna
smoking"? Isn't Etna a volcano in Sicily and therefore is in Italy?
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"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."
- Comment on the voice within the poet calling on him to kill the snake. (4)
[Need help?]
Lawrence was distrustful of common education. Education would teach us to fear snakes, to associate
them with the serpent of Eden. As such, snakes should be killed. Indeed, most people have a natural
tendency to kill snakes!
On the other hand, Lawrence believed that there is an inner power called conscience which tells us what
is truly right or wrong. The inner voice in him suggested that snakes are beautiful creatures, fully equal
to humans in the realm of creation.
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- Does the poet agree with this voice? How do you know? (4)
[Need help?]
Lawrence was most distrustful of education, and of the voices of education. He therefore did not agree
with his voice of education which said that the snake should be killed. He went along rather with his
conscience which told him that the snake was a guest at his water trough, that it was a noble creature.
Indeed, it was a god.
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- Why did the poet feel honoured by the snake's presence? (4)
[Need help?]
The snake had arrived silently, as a guest. It was not threatening or menacing. Instead, it behaved regally,
like a king or indeed like a god.
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