POETRY 5 : Snake ENGLISH [Communicative] - POETRY 5 : Snake

But must I confess how I liked him,
How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough
And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless, Into the burning bowels of this earth?
i.What can be inferred about the speaker's attitude towards nature based on the excerpt?
ii.List the meaning of the phrase "burning bowels of this earth".
iii.How is the snake's arrival and departure symbolic?
iv.The speaker compares the snake to the guest. Which word in the extract displays the snake's non-guest like behaviour?

And flickered his two forked tongue
from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more, (Snake)

(i) Whose lips and tongue are being referred to here?
(ii) What was he doing?
(iii) Where was the poet at that time?
(iv) What does the word ‘mused’ mean here?

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

The encounter with the snake and the dual response of the poet to his presence at the water trough reflect a conflict between civilized social education and natural human instincts. The poet writes a diary entry highlighting how he was torn between the two voices. Write his diary.