“Snake” is from the series entitled “Birds, Beasts and Flowers”. This is an example of the poet’s visualization of an animal. Lawrence drew the inspiration for this poem from an encounter with a snake to water its canal in 1920-21 when he lived at Fontana Vecchia in Tauromenio. Poems by Mr. Megroz are described by an epoch making unusual in the environment, and with precision and study of perceptions. The loose movement of the verse echoes the movement of the snake.
The poet states that in Sicily it was a hot afternoon, as it was in July. The poet comes to tap to collect water. When he reaches the acrob-am in the neighborhood, he finds a yellow snake drinking water in the canal. . It lugs a limp body over the edge of the canal. He drew water of such great dignity, that the poet, in his innate reverence, was compelled to wait to draw water.
To drink with the right mouth;
He drew softly through straight gums in a relaxed long body;
Be silent.
Who was made before me at my manger;
The snake seems to have a genius of its own. And as soon as the poet was called rational, he was second to this instinct of the creature. The snake raised its head and, looking vaguely at the poet, resumed its business of drinking. This is the moment that the poet imparts to the serpent. It was as innocent as the drink of cattle, and it seems innocent. It seemed that the snake had its own rudeness. The poet seems to be asking: In what way was humanity superior to this elegance? He asserted that his tongue was forked, and that he practiced it in his own unique way.
The voice of the sage instructs him to kill the snake. For in Sicily snakes were considered black, and golden ones poisonous. The voice of masculinity commanded the poet to kill the snake so as not to injure the coward. These two concepts are constructed by culture. Social behavior is always relative. What is right for one person is wrong for another.
And voices in me: If you were a man
Take the stick, and break it now, and cut it off.
Ironically, the above lines, far removed from the civility of human culture, depict man as a barbarian. The irony and contradiction of established civil ideas are produced here. A snake, though poisoned, does not injure men, and is innocent unless wounded. Therefore he is taller in the sense of the thumb, so that he may not interfere unduly with the affairs of men, so that men may intrude upon the lives of serpents. At that moment, the man and the serpent are united in the water of necessity. Both the animal world and man are united in their survival instinct. Cultivates compassion for the snake that appears as its guest. This instant admiration is also purely instinctive, it is reverence for the master of life. It is remembered that Freud: “Civilization is the negation of instinct.”
When he is about to jump into the pit of snakes, the poet suddenly, as if forced, Marcellus throws a log at him. The snake hastens to the bed clumsily. So the poet returns to square one. It pains him to have done it as cheap and vulgar. He likens himself to the Old Marauder who killed the albatross that was helping him in his quest, and was forced to atone for his guilt. The serpent appeared in the hole of the exiled king, when he was under God as a king with all his authority.
On another level, the poem represents the relegation of sexuality in the form of instinct. The serpent has a phallic connotation. The poet impresses upon his men not to make sexuality a social and religious end, lest he regret it. But the channel is in direct spirit and direction, ethically and healthily.
