Answer
the following questions briefly:
(a)
Why does the poet decide to stand and wait till the snake has
finished drinking?
What
does this tell you about the poet?
(Notice
that he uses 'someone' instead of 'something' for the snake.)
(b)
In stanza 2 and 3, the poet gives a vivid description of the snake by
using suggestive expressions. What picture of the snake do you form
on the basis of this description?
(c)
How does the poet describe the day and the atmosphere when he saw the
snake?
(d)
What does the poet want to convey by saying that the snake emerges
from the 'burning bowels of the earth'?
(e)
Do you think the snake was conscious of the poet's presence? How do
you know?
(f)
How
do we know that the snake's thirst was satiated? Pick out the
expressions that convey this.
(g)
The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. Why does he
experience conflicting emotions on seeing the snake?
(h)
The poet is filled with horror and protest when the snake prepares to
retreat and bury itself in the 'horrid black', 'dreadful' hole. In
the light of this statement, bring out the irony of his act of
throwing a log at the snake.
(i)
The
poet seems to be full of admiration and respect for the snake. He
almost regards him like a majestic God. Pick out at least four
expressions from the poem that reflect these emotions.
(j)
What
is the difference between the snake's movement at the beginning of
the poem and later when the poet strikes it with a log of wood? You
may use relevant vocabulary from the poem to highlight the
difference.
(k)
The poet experiences feelings of self-derision, guilt and regret
after hitting the snake. Pick out expressions that suggest this. Why
does he feel like this?
(l)
You have already read Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner in which
an albatross is killed by the mariner. Why does the poet make an
allusion to the albatross?
(m)
'I have something to expiate'-Explain.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(a) Why does the poet decide to stand and wait till the snake has finished drinking?
What does this tell you about the poet?
(Notice that he uses 'someone' instead of 'something' for the snake.)
(b) In stanza 2 and 3, the poet gives a vivid description of the snake by using suggestive expressions. What picture of the snake do you form on the basis of this description?
(c) How does the poet describe the day and the atmosphere when he saw the snake?
(d) What does the poet want to convey by saying that the snake emerges from the 'burning bowels of the earth'?
(e) Do you think the snake was conscious of the poet's presence? How do you know?
(f) How do we know that the snake's thirst was satiated? Pick out the expressions that convey this.
(g) The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. Why does he experience conflicting emotions on seeing the snake?
(h) The poet is filled with horror and protest when the snake prepares to retreat and bury itself in the 'horrid black', 'dreadful' hole. In the light of this statement, bring out the irony of his act of throwing a log at the snake.
(i) The poet seems to be full of admiration and respect for the snake. He almost regards him like a majestic God. Pick out at least four expressions from the poem that reflect these emotions.
(j) What is the difference between the snake's movement at the beginning of the poem and later when the poet strikes it with a log of wood? You may use relevant vocabulary from the poem to highlight the difference.
(k) The poet experiences feelings of self-derision, guilt and regret after hitting the snake. Pick out expressions that suggest this. Why does he feel like this?
(l) You have already read Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner in which an albatross is killed by the mariner. Why does the poet make an allusion to the albatross?
(m) 'I have something to expiate'-Explain.
(a)
The
poet decides to stand and wait till the snake has finished drinking
because he was second to come over there. The snake was the first
comer. Unless the snake was gone, he couldn’t go to the trough.
(b)
From the above mentioned stanzas, the picture emerges very beautiful
and clear. The poet is in his pyjamas and has his pitcher. The snake
glides its way graciously over to the water-trough.
(c)
The
poet described the day and atmosphere to be hot. It is clear through
phrases used in the poem like: ‘On a hot, hot day’, ‘in
the deep, strange scented shade…’, ‘burning bowels
of the earth’, ‘day of Sicilian July, when Etna smoking’.
(d)
By this the poet wants to convey that there is intense heat inside
the hole of the earth as it is burning.
(e)
I
think the snake was not conscious of the poet’s presence as if
it were, it couldn’t have behaved majestically and as if it
were in a dream. It looked around like a god but not at the poet,
though it looked in the direction where the poet stood.
(f)
The
snake’s thirst was satiated as it looked dreamily after
drinking the water. The expressions used to justify the same are:
‘and flickered his two-forked tongue’, ‘mused a
moment’, ‘he drank enough’, ‘and lifted his
head dreamily.’
(g)
The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. It is because he is
caught in between by human instinct and rational thought (called
voice of human education). Human instinct makes him appreciate the
snake and love animals. The rational thought instinct makes him
appreciate the snake and love animals. The rational thought says that
snakes are poisonous. So they must be killed.
(h)
The irony of the situation lies in the fact that the snake was
already withdrawing himself. So there wasn’t any need to throw
the log at him. However, the poet does it and later regrets for the
same.
(i)
The expressions are: ‘and flickered his two-forked tongue/ from
his lips’, ‘and mused a moment’, ‘But must I
confess, I liked him’, ‘How glad I was…’,
‘like a guest in quiet’, ‘I stared with
fascination’, ‘Like a king in exile.’
(j)
We find the snake thirsty at the beginning of the poem. It draws its
slack body over the edge of the water-trough leisurely and slowly.
But when the poet strikes a log at it, it ‘convulses and
writhes’ like lightening.
(k)
The expressions are ‘A sort of horror, a sort of protest’,
‘I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!’, ‘I
despised myself’, ‘to expiate’, ‘A
pettiness’.
The
poet feels this way because he feel regret and realizes that he
shouldn’t have thrown a log to kill the snake.
(l)
The poet makes an allusion to the albatross because it was shot my
the Ancient mariner, although nobody wanted it to die. However, later
on board the ship, everybody agreed on it being a right thing to do.
Later, the mariners wanted it back as it brought with it, the wind to
steer the ship. Likewise, the poet in Snake wants the snake back to
accept his hospitality like an honored guest.
(m)
It means that the poet has something to regret for ever. This is that
he shouldn’t have thrown a log to kill the snake.
(a) The poet decides to stand and wait till the snake has finished drinking because he was second to come over there. The snake was the first comer. Unless the snake was gone, he couldn’t go to the trough.
(b) From the above mentioned stanzas, the picture emerges very beautiful and clear. The poet is in his pyjamas and has his pitcher. The snake glides its way graciously over to the water-trough.
(c) The poet described the day and atmosphere to be hot. It is clear through phrases used in the poem like: ‘On a hot, hot day’, ‘in the deep, strange scented shade…’, ‘burning bowels of the earth’, ‘day of Sicilian July, when Etna smoking’.
(d) By this the poet wants to convey that there is intense heat inside the hole of the earth as it is burning.
(e) I think the snake was not conscious of the poet’s presence as if it were, it couldn’t have behaved majestically and as if it were in a dream. It looked around like a god but not at the poet, though it looked in the direction where the poet stood.
(f) The snake’s thirst was satiated as it looked dreamily after drinking the water. The expressions used to justify the same are: ‘and flickered his two-forked tongue’, ‘mused a moment’, ‘he drank enough’, ‘and lifted his head dreamily.’
(g) The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. It is because he is caught in between by human instinct and rational thought (called voice of human education). Human instinct makes him appreciate the snake and love animals. The rational thought instinct makes him appreciate the snake and love animals. The rational thought says that snakes are poisonous. So they must be killed.
(h) The irony of the situation lies in the fact that the snake was already withdrawing himself. So there wasn’t any need to throw the log at him. However, the poet does it and later regrets for the same.
(i) The expressions are: ‘and flickered his two-forked tongue/ from his lips’, ‘and mused a moment’, ‘But must I confess, I liked him’, ‘How glad I was…’, ‘like a guest in quiet’, ‘I stared with fascination’, ‘Like a king in exile.’
(j) We find the snake thirsty at the beginning of the poem. It draws its slack body over the edge of the water-trough leisurely and slowly. But when the poet strikes a log at it, it ‘convulses and writhes’ like lightening.
(k) The expressions are ‘A sort of horror, a sort of protest’, ‘I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!’, ‘I despised myself’, ‘to expiate’, ‘A pettiness’.
The poet feels this way because he feel regret and realizes that he shouldn’t have thrown a log to kill the snake.
(l) The poet makes an allusion to the albatross because it was shot my the Ancient mariner, although nobody wanted it to die. However, later on board the ship, everybody agreed on it being a right thing to do. Later, the mariners wanted it back as it brought with it, the wind to steer the ship. Likewise, the poet in Snake wants the snake back to accept his hospitality like an honored guest.
(m) It means that the poet has something to regret for ever. This is that he shouldn’t have thrown a log to kill the snake.
