Snake Summary, Explanation, Word meanings Class 10

 

Snake poem - Class 10 English

CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 11 Snake Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Literature Reader (Communicative) Book

CBSE Class 10 English Poem 6 Snake Poem Summaryand detailed explanation of the poem along with meanings of difficult words and literary devices used in the poem. Summary is followed by explanation of the Poem Snake. Don’t miss out the Chapter 11 Important Questions

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Author: David Herbert Richards Lawrence

Class 10 Poem SNAKE Summary

The poem talks about the peaceful co – existence between man and the other creatures in the world. It also talks about man’s sins and the guilt which he has when he fails to perform his duty of respecting these other creatures which are God’s creations.
It being an extremely hot day, the poet comes to his water trough to quench his thirst. There he sees a golden-brown snake already drinking water. He is afraid and at the same time, welcomes his guest. He considers himself next in turn and waits patiently for his turn.
He is fascinated by this creation of God which seems harmless and whose only aim is to quench its thirst and retreat. The poet’s inner voice asks him to kill it as it being golden brown in colour, is considered to be poisonous.
The snake is unaware of the presence of the poet and in its natural way, quenches its thirst and withdraws into the hole in the wall.
When the snake is on its way into the hole, the poet is terrorized at the thought of the snake withdrawing into a world of darkness. He picks up a log of wood, hurls it at the snake.
He misses it but the snake senses danger and disappears into the hole in a haste.
The poet is still fascinated by the snake, but a sense of guilt grips him. He regrets his act of trying to hit the snake. He finds a similarity between this feeling of repentance to that of the ancient mariner who had killed the Albatross. He considers his act to be wrongful, to hit his ‘guest’. He wishes that the snake comes back so that he can apologize and make amends for insulting the uncrowned king in exile in the underworld due to be crowned again.

 

Snake Summary in Hindi

कविता मनुष्य और दुनिया के अन्य प्राणियों के बीच शांतिपूर्ण सह-अस्तित्व के बारे में बात करती है। यह मनुष्य के पापों और उस अपराध के बारे में भी बात करता है जो उसे तब होता है जब वह इन अन्य प्राणियों, जो कि भगवान की रचनाएं हैं, का सम्मान करने के अपने कर्तव्य को निभाने में विफल रहता है।
अत्यधिक गर्मी का दिन होने के कारण कवि अपनी प्यास बुझाने के लिए पानी के कुंड के पास आता है। वहां उसने देखा कि एक सुनहरा-भूरा सांप पहले से ही पानी पी रहा है। वह डरते भी हैं और साथ ही अपने मेहमान का स्वागत भी करते हैं। वह स्वयं को पंक्ति में समझता है और धैर्यपूर्वक अपनी बारी का इंतजार करता है।
वह ईश्वर की इस रचना पर मोहित हो जाता है जो हानिरहित लगती है और जिसका एकमात्र उद्देश्य अपनी प्यास बुझाना और पीछे हटना है। कवि की अंतरात्मा की आवाज उसे इसे मारने के लिए कहती है क्योंकि सुनहरे भूरे रंग का होने के कारण इसे जहरीला माना जाता है।
साँप कवि की उपस्थिति से अनजान है और अपने प्राकृतिक तरीके से अपनी प्यास बुझाता है और दीवार के छेद में चला जाता है।
जब साँप बिल में जा रहा होता है, तो कवि साँप के अंधेरे की दुनिया में चले जाने के विचार से भयभीत हो जाता है। वह लकड़ी का एक लट्ठा उठाता है और उसे सांप पर फेंकता है। वह चूक जाता है लेकिन सांप खतरे को भांप लेता है और जल्दबाजी में बिल में गायब हो जाता है।
कवि अभी भी साँप से मोहित है, लेकिन अपराध बोध उसे जकड़ लेता है। उसे सांप को मारने की कोशिश करने के अपने कृत्य पर पछतावा है। वह पश्चाताप की इस भावना के बीच उस प्राचीन नाविक की भावना के बीच समानता पाता है जिसने अल्बाट्रॉस को मार डाला था। वह अपने ‘मेहमान’ पर वार करने के अपने कृत्य को ग़लत मानता है। वह चाहता है कि सांप वापस आ जाए ताकि वह माफ़ी मांग सके और दोबारा ताजपोशी के कारण अंडरवर्ल्ड में निर्वासित राजा के अपमान की भरपाई कर सके।

Snake Figures of Speech

 

SNAKE Poem Explanation

Poem
A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there.
In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob-tree
I came down the steps with my pitcher
Word meaning
Water trough: a vessel which holds water
Carob tree: a red flowered tree originally in the Mediterranean area
Pitcher: tall, round container with an open top and a large handle
Explanation of the above poem – The poet says that once upon a time on a very hot day, a snake came to his water trough in the garden to quench its thirst. The poet was wearing his pyjamas and he had also gone to the trough to get some water for himself. The air was filled with the shade and the fragrance of the carob tree that stood in the garden. The poet was holding a pitcher to fill as he descended the stairs and walked towards the trough.
Literary devices –

1. Alliteration – ‘strange-scented shade’ – ‘s’ sound is repeated
2. Repetition – ‘On a hot, hot day’ – ‘hot’ is repeated to lay emphasis
3. Epithet – ‘strange-scented shade’ – the adjective – ‘strange – scented’ is used with ‘shade’ but it refers to the carob tree. 

Poem

And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me.
He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom
And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the edge of
the stone trough
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped
from the tap, in a small clearness,
Word Meanings
fissure: crack
gloom: darkness
yellow-brown slackness: The yellow – brown coloured body of the snake moved slowly
soft-bellied down: The snake’s belly is soft and slimy and is turned upside down. Clearness: puddle of clear water.
Explanation of the above poem – The poet thought that he must wait for his turn to fill the pitcher as the snake was there at the trough before him. The snake crawled out of a small crack in the wall. It was dark inside. Its yellow – brown coloured body crawled slowly, the soft belly of the snake moved over the edge of the trough made of stone. The snake rested its throat upon the base of the stony edge of the trough where water had dripped from the tap and got collected in a small puddle.
Literary devices –
1. Alliteration – ‘brown slackness soft-bellied’ – ‘b’ and ‘s’ sound is repeated
2. Repetition – ‘must’ is repeated to emphasize that it was mandatory for him to wait for his turn.

Poem
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight
gums, into his slack long body,
Silently.
Someone was before me at my water trough,
And I, like a second comer, waiting.
He lifted his head from his drinking, as
cattle do,
Word meaning
slack: loose, lazy
Explanation of the above poem – The snake sipped the water through its soft mouth. It was silent as it drank the water which flowed through its gums into its long body. The poet says that someone was there at his water trough before him and he had to wait for his turn. When it drank some water, it paused drinking and turned its head to look around just like cattle do.
Literary devices –
1. Simile – ‘He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do’ – the snake has been compared to cattle.
‘I like a second comer’ – poet is compared to a person who is second in position.

Poem
And looked at me vaguely, as drinking

cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue
from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more,
Being earth-brown, earth-golden
from the burning bowels of the earth
On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.
Word Meanings
Vaguely – not clear, passing glance
Flickered – moved
Mused – think about
Stooped – bent forward
Bowels – bottom of the Earth
Sicilian July – Reference to the intense hot month of July on the island of Sicily
Etna smoking – reference to Mount Etna located in Sicily is an active volcano and emits smoke.
Explanation of the above poem – The snake looked at the poet also when it lifted its head just like cattle do. Then it moved its two – forked tongue through its lips. It seemed as if it was thinking something. Then the snake bent forward and drank some more water. The poet says that the colour of the snake’s body was an Earthy mix of golden and brown. Probably it was because it lived inside the bottom of the Earth which was burning hot due to two reasons – The first was that it was the summer season and secondly, the Mount Etna located there was an active volcano which emitted a lot of hot lava and fire. This indicated that the Earth was hot inside.
Literary devices –
1. Simile – ‘looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do’ – snake is compared to cattle
2. Alliteration – ‘flickered his two-forked tongue’ – ‘f’ and ‘t’ sound repeated
3. Visual imagery – ‘Etna smoking’ and ‘burning bowels of the Earth’ create visual imagery in the mind of the reader.


Poem
The voice of my education said to me
He must be killed,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous.
And voices in me said, If you were a man
You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.
Word Meaning
Venomous – poisonous
Explanation of the above poem – The poet had learnt in his schooling that a snake was dangerous and should be killed. It was a belief in Sicily that the black – coloured snakes were harmless while the golden – coloured were poisonous. The poet’s conscious challenged him to prove his masculinity by killing the snake with a stick.
Literary devices –
1. Repetition – ‘black’ black’ to show emphasis

 Poem
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?
Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him? Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to
him? Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
Word Meaning
Confess – admit his guilt
Glad – happy
Depart – leave
Pacified – to be at peace
burning bowels of this earth – Reference to the hot bottom of Mount Etna which is a volcano.
Cowardice – lack of bravery
perversity – the quality of being unreasonable, illogical
Explanation of the above poem – The poet admits that he had developed a liking for the snake. He was happy to have a guest at his water trough. The snake had come peacefully to quench its thirst. It did not intend to harm anyone and was retreading back into the bottom of the Earth through the crack in the wall. It had quenched its thirst and was satisfied now. Although it did not thank the poet, but it did not even harm him. The poet pondered upon his decision of not killing the snake. He thought that whether it was due to lack of bravery that he did not have the courage to kill it. Maybe he was attracted to the snake and wanted to befriend it. Actually, he was thankful to the snake for being a guest at his water trough and so, did not want to kill his guest.
Literary devices-
1. Alliteration – ‘peaceful, pacified’ – ‘p’ sound repeated
‘burning bowels’ – ‘b’ sound repeated
2. Simile – ‘he had come like a guest’ – the poet compares the snake to a guest.

Poem
I felt so honoured.
And yet those voices:
If you were not afraid, you would kill him!
And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid, But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
Word meaning
Hospitality – friendly welcome
Explanation of the above poem – The poet felt that he had been honoured by the snake who had appeared at his water trough as a guest. The inner voices inside the poet kept on nudging him to kill the snake. The poet says that he was afraid of the snake and did not have enough courage to kill it. Beyond that he felt obliged to have him as a guest. The feeling of being hospitable to his guest overpowered the inner voices which urged him to kill the snake.
Literary devices –
1. Repetition – ‘afraid’ repeated to lay emphasis.

 Poem
From out the dark door of the secret earth.
He drank enough
And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken,
And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so black,
Seeming to lick his lips,
Word meaning
dark door of the secret earth – Referring to the hole from where the snake has crawled out of the Earth.
Explanation of the above poem – The poet recapitulates the incident. He says that the snake crawled out from the crack in the wall. It came from the dark depths of the Earth. After drinking water, it lifted and turned his head like a person who in under the influence of alcohol. It moved its forked tongue out of its mouth. It was black in colour and it seemed that the snake was licking its lips.   
Literary devices –
1. Alliteration – ‘dark door’ – ‘d’ sound is repeated
‘his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken’ – ‘h’ and ‘d’ sound repeated
‘lick his lips’ – ‘l’ sound repeated
2. Simile – ‘lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken’ – snake is compared to a drunk person
‘his tongue like a forked night’ – The snake’s forked black coloured tongue is compared to the black night
3. Anaphora – ‘and’ repeated at the beginning of lines 3 and 4

Poem
And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air,
And slowly turned his head,
And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream,
Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round
And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face.
Word meaning
Wall–face – face of the wall of the poet’s garden
Explanation of the above poem – The snake looked around it and retained same expressions just like God sees equally upon everything. It turned its head very slowly as if it was dreaming. Then the snake started moving its coiled body, climbing towards the crack in the wall of the poet’s garden.
Literary devices –
1. Anaphora – ‘and’ repeated at the beginning of lines
2. Simile – the snake has been compared to God
3. Repetition – ‘slowly’ has been repeated
4. Alliteration – ‘broken bank’ – ‘b’ sound repeated 

Poem
And as he put his head into that dreadful hole,
And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and entered farther,
A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole,
Deliberately going into the blackness, and slowly drawing himself after,
Overcame me now his back was turned.
Word Meaning
Dreadful – terrible
Horrid – causing horror
Explanation of the above poem – As the snake started entering the crack and bent its shoulders to enter the narrow opening, the poet was gripped by a protest against the snake retreat. Now that the snake had his back towards the poet, the poet had a change of heart. He was not happy to see the snake leaving.

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Literary devices –

1. Anaphora – ‘and as he’ repeated at the beginning of lines
2. Repetition – ‘a sort of’ repeated
3. Alliteration – ‘he put his head’ – ‘h’ sound is repeated

 Poem
I looked round, I put down my pitcher,
I picked up a clumsy log
And threw it at the water-trough with a clatter.
I think it did not hit him,
But suddenly that part of him that was left behind convulsed in undignified haste.
Word Meaning
Clatter: sound produced
Convulsed: a violent movement
Haste: hurry
Explanation of the above poem – The poet looked around looking for something to hit the snake with. He kept the pitcher down, lifted a log of wood and threw it at the snake. There was a sound as the log hit the wall. It did not hit the snake but the part of the snake’s body which was left outside moved violently as if in a hurry in reaction to it.

Literary devices –
1. Anaphora – ‘I’ repeated in the beginning of lines
2. Onomatopoeia – ‘clatter’ is the sound produced by the log hitting the wall.

 Poem
Writhed like lightning, and was gone
Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front,
At which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination.
And immediately I regretted it.
I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!
Word meaning
Writhed – twisted and turned
Paltry – worthless
Explanation of the above poem – The snake twisted and turned violently in reaction and disappeared into the crack which was dark like the black hole. The edges of the crack were the Earth’s lips as the crack led inside the Earth. The poet was fascinated by the crack and in the hot noon stood there, staring at it. The next moment he felt sorry for hitting the snake. He thought that he did a worthless and a rude act. He had been unfair to the snake.

Literary devices –
1. Simile – ‘Writhed like lightning’ – the snake’s movement has been compared to lightning

 

Poem
I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education.
And I thought of the albatross
And I wished he would come back, my snake.
For he seemed to me again like a king,
Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Word meaning
Despised – hated
Accursed – under a curse
Albatross – an allusion to Coleridge’s “Rime of the ancient mariner“. He wishes for its return.
exile – Sent away from his territory
Explanation of the above poem – The poet hated himself and the education which had been cursed. It was due to his education that his inner voice had been forcing him to hit the snake. He was reminded of the albatross bird which had been shot dead by the ancient mariner (from the poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner). Just like the mariner regretted killing the bird similarly, the poet regretted hitting the snake and wished that it came back. He thought that the snake was like a king who was in exile. So, he lived in the dark underworld – the dark depth of the Earth. The poet wanted it to come back to it’s kingdom that was the poet’s garden.

Literary devices –
1. Simile – ‘he seemed to me again like a king’ – the snake has been compared to a king.
2. Personification – ‘he seemed to me again like a king’ – the snake has been personified as it is addressed as ‘he’.
3. Allusion – reference to the albatross from the poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

 Poem
Now due to be crowned again.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords
Of life.
And I have something to expiate
A pettiness.
Word Meaning
Expiate – make amends
Pettiness – feeling small
 Explanation of the above poem – The poet feels that now once again the snake was due to be crowned as the king. He felt that he missed an opportunity of being with the lord of life. He addresses the snake as the lord of life as it lived in the depth of the Earth which was the source of all living things. The poet wanted to make amends and correct his mistake as he was feeling small in front of the great snake.

Literary devices –
1. Alliteration – ‘lords Of life’ – ‘l’ sound repeated. 


Snake – FAQs

Q1. Where can I find NCERT solutions class 10 English Chapter 12 Snake?
Ans. You can find all solutions of CBSE Poem Snake for Class 10 Communicative English here 

Q2. What is a snake summary?
Ans. The Summary of Poem Snake by DH Lawrence is as follows –
The poem talks about the peaceful co – existence between man and the other creatures in the world. It also talks about man’s sins and the guilt which he has when he fails to perform his duty of respecting these other creatures which are God’s creations.
It being an extremely hot day, the poet comes to his water trough to quench his thirst. There he sees a golden-brown snake already drinking water. He is afraid and at the same time, welcomes his guest. He considers himself next in turn and waits patiently for his turn.
He is fascinated by this creation of God which seems harmless and whose only aim is to quench its thirst and retreat. The poet’s inner voice asks him to kill it as it being golden brown in colour, is considered to be poisonous.
The snake is unaware of the presence of the poet and in its natural way, quenches its thirst and withdraws into the hole in the wall.
When the snake is on its way into the hole, the poet is terrorized at the thought of the snake withdrawing into a world of darkness. He picks up a log of wood, hurls it at the snake. He misses it but the snake senses danger and disappears into the hole in a haste.
The poet is still fascinated by the snake, but a sense of guilt grips him. He regrets his act of trying to hit the snake. He finds a similarity between this feeling of repentance to that of the ancient mariner who had killed the Albatross. He considers his act to be wrongful, to hit his ‘guest’. He wishes that the snake comes back so that he can apologize and make amends for insulting the uncrowned king in exile in the underworld due to be crowned again. 

Q3. How do we know that the Snake’s thirst was satiated?
Ans. The action of the snake, when it drinks water and then moves the tongue on its lips, indicates that its thirst is satiated.

Q4. Who wrote the poem Snake?
Ans. The poem Snake is written by the famous poet D.H. Lawrence.

Q5. What does the poem ‘Snake’ teach us?
Ans. The poem ‘Snake’ teaches us to respect animals. We must not have baseless fear and thus try to harm them.

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