Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Post-1900 – The…

The idea

D.H. Lawrence's 'Snake' explores the tension between human instinct and societal conditioning through an encounter at a water trough in Sicily. The speaker's innate reverence for the majestic, 'earth-golden' snake conflicts with the 'voices of [his] accursed human education' demanding he kill it. Lawrence uses free verse, rich sensory imagery, and sibilance to capture the snake's fluid movements and the oppressive heat. The poem culminates in a moment of petty violence when the speaker throws a log, instantly followed by profound regret and a sense of having missed a chance with 'one of the lords of life'. It serves as a Modernist critique of how rationalism and toxic masculinity sever humanity's vital connection to the natural world.

What earns the marks

• Analyse Lawrence's use of free verse and varying line lengths to mirror the unpredictable, fluid movement of the snake and the speaker's shifting thoughts.
• Evaluate the conflict between the speaker's intuitive respect for nature and the destructive dictates of his 'human education'.
• Examine the religious and mythological elevation of the snake as a 'king in exile, uncrowned' and one of the 'lords of life', contrasting with traditions that associate the serpent with sin.
• Discuss the significance of the sensory language and phonetic devices, particularly sibilance and assonance, in establishing the oppressive atmosphere of the 'hot, hot day'.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Assuming the poem is a traditional religious allegory.

  Put it right: Lawrence subverts the biblical trope of the serpent to critique human arrogance and celebrate primal nature.

• Treating the speaker's final act of throwing the log as a triumph.

  Put it right: It must be recognised as a 'paltry' and 'vulgar' failure of character that brings immediate, profound regret.

• Ignoring the specific Modernist context; students often read it purely as a nature poem rather than a critique of modern rationalism and societal conditioning.

Exam tips

• Compare the speaker's internal conflict in 'Snake' with other Modernist explorations of alienation from nature or the self.
• Analyse the simile 'like a god' and the metaphorical title 'king in exile, uncrowned' to show how the speaker elevates the snake.
• Use the intense Sicilian heat and the shared water trough to explain the physical conditions of the encounter before interpreting the speaker's conflict.