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?

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Solution

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.

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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?

(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.

How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.

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.

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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?

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.