Snake by D. H. Lawrence: Summary & Analysis

Snake by D. H. Lawrence is one of the poet's most popular poems. The poem is easy enough to read and follow. It tells the anecdote of the poet encountering a venomous snake at a well in Italy.

The poet is confused as to how he should react. “The voices of his education” means that he knows that he should kill or break the snake. However, he feels emotionally connected to the snake, and thinks of the creature as a God, who should be honored.

However, upon seeing the snake crawl back into a fissure in the well wall, he decides to listen to the voices of his education and decides to clumsily throw a log at the snake, an action that he immediately regrets. 

Despite the easy-to-follow anecdote and changes in emotion reported by the poet, the poem remains something of a mystery. What is the deeper meaning of this anecdote? 

What does the snake represent or symbolize, and what are we to make of the speaker’s reaction toward it? I will try to answer these questions by providing both a rhetorical and psychological analysis of “Snake."

The full text of the poem

Here is the full text of the 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

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,

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,

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.

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.

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?

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

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,

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.

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.

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 an undignified haste,

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!

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,

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.

“Snake” was written when D. H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda were living in Taormina, Sicily, between 1920 and 1921. The poem was a result of Lawrence's actual experience in the region. 

However, "Snake" was first published in July 1921 in The Dial and was later reprinted in The London Mercury in October 1921. Lastly, the poem was later included in poet’s poetry collection entitled Birds, Beasts, and Flowers in 1923

Poem Summary 

The poem as mentioned earlier is quite easy to follow. It is popular in part because of how well Lawrence describes the anecdote and his vacillating emotions toward the creature. 

The poem is written in free verse and is made up of 18 stanzas and 74 lines. Snake represents a perfect example of poem blending form and function. The lengthy and sinuous lines of the poem represent both the length and movement of the snake as well as the poet’s changing emotions and attitudes toward it. 

Stanzas 1–5

Stazas 1 to 5 describes the poet’s initial encounter with the snake. The snake is portrayed as mysterious and nonthreatening. The first stanza presents the encounter as ordinary. However, by the second stanza, the mystery deepens. 

This is done through subtle imagery and description. For example, the  “dark carob tree” is described as having a “deep, strange-scented shade.” We are then given a close up description of the snake in Stanza 3.

The mystery of the snake is further deepened when it is associated with Mount Etna in Stanza 5, when the poet writes “On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.” The poet appears to be associating the snake with subterranean imagery. 

Stanzas 6–10

In Stanzas 6–10, the poet debates between his initial welcoming and admiring attitude toward the snake versus “the voices of his education.” These voices demand that “He must be killed /For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous” (Lines 23-24).

However, the poet holds back from violence because of the spell of fear and mystery that the snake holds him under. The poet says “And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid, / But even so, honoured still more” (Lines 37–38).

Stanzas 11–14

In Stanzas 11–14, we see the speaker give in to “the voices of his education.” We are not sure why the poet finally gives in to these voices, but he throws a log at the snake and misses, causing the snake to escape hastily and undignified.

The poet’s change in attitude appears to be precipitated by the snake returning to the earth through a fissure in the well. As he says, “And as he put his head into that dreadful hole . . ./ a sort of horror …/ Overcame me’ (Lines 50–54). 

Stanzas 15-18

Stanzas 15–18 explain the poet’s regret at being hostile toward the snake. He even compares his act to that of the mariner who kills the albatross in Coleridge’s famous poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” with the lines “And I thought of the albatross/ And I wished he would come back, my snake” (Lines 66–67).

This is significant as the albatross in Coleridge’s poem represents a sign of good luck and blessing. The poet genuinely feels that his “mean act” means that he has “missed my chance with one of the lords / Of life” (Lines 71–72). 

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis of the Snake begins inevitably with its free verse form. As mentioned earlier, the poem is an excellent example of form blending with function. The long flowing lines represent both the shape and movement of the snake, as well as the poets changing emotions toward it.

For example Stanza 3 with its lengthy lines gives a description of the snake positioning its body while it drinks from the well. In Line 8, the poet says that the snake “trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the edge of the stone trough.” 

This description includes a long string of adjectives, which serves to show how long the snake was, as well as its movement. Besides this, the poem employs a number of conventional literary devices, such as alliteration. 

A good example of alliteration would be in Line 4: In the deep, “strange-scented shade of the great dark carob tree,” where the “s” sound is repeated over three words. This form of alliteration or consonance is known as sibilance. It works quite well as the “s” sound is associated with the hissing sound that a snake makes.

Sibilance in the poem also has a kind of onomatopoeic effect. This is especially true in Lines 11–13, where the poet says “He sipped with his straight mouth / Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,/ Silently.”

The snake is described as being silent. However, the essence of the sound associated with a snake, which is a quiet “hiss,” is being reproduced through the sibilance created in Lines 11–13. 

Even the actual sound of the word “hiss” is reproduced with phrases like “He Sipped,” “his straight mouth,” and “his slack long body.” This sound is further reinforced through the assonance of the repetition of the short vowel “i” sound in “he,” “his,” and “sipped.” 

Other examples of alliteration in the poem include Line 20, “Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earth,” where “b” sounds are repeated throughout the line. This repetition culminates in “burning bowels” to emphasize the subterranean associations of the snake. 

Line 29 also includes both sibilance and alliteration:  “And depart peaceful, pacified.” The repetition of the “s” sound in “peaceful” and “pacified” is sibilance further highlighting the sound classically associated with snakes. The words also have similar meaning and the alliteration with the “p” sound of words with similar meaning emphasizes the harmless intentions of the snake.

Repetitive and other rhetorical devices in “Snake”

However, more than anything else, the poem relies heavily on repetitive rhetorical devices. These are devices normally associated with speech patterns and often free verse poems. Let’s look at one example: 

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?

Here, the poet is using a combination or erotema (or asking a question that does not require an answer) and anaphora (repetition at the beginning). The rhetorical questions and repetition highlight the mystery, wonder, fear, and slight confusion at encountering a snake. 

The table below provides a list of repetitive rhetorical devices, their definitions, and examples from “Snake”: 

Rhetorical Device	Definition	Example
Anaphora	Repetition at the start	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? (Lines 31-33) A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole (Lines 52)
Epistrophe	Repetition at the end	Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him? Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him? (Lines 31-32) He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do, And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do (Lines 16-17)
Symploce	Repetition at the beginning and end, with a small change in the middle	Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him? Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him? (Lines 31-32) I was afraid, I was most afraid (Line 37).
Anadiplosis	When the same language is used at the end of one sentence or clause and at the beginning of the next.	But must I confess how I liked him, How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet (Lines 27-28)
Polyptoton	Repetition of the root with a different ending.	He drank enough And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken (Lines 41-42)

These repetitive rhetorical devices tend to deepen the mystery and wonder associated with the snake. In addition to the mystery and wonder, it also highlights the “fear.” But this is not the ordinary fear that we associate with a man running away from something dangerous.

It is the word “fear” as used in the Bible, whenever man encounters God or the agents of God such as prophets or angels. This is appropriate as the snake is treated almost as a God in the poet’s imagination. In Lines 71–72, the snake is described as “one of the lords of life.” 

Polysyndeton is also used frequently in the poem. This is the overuse of conjunctions, such as “or” and “and.” We see this for example in Lines 7–11 in Stanza 3: 

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,

He sipped with his straight mouth

This serves to show how excited and taken in the poet was by what was by his unlikely visit. The poet is mesmerized by encountering a creature with wild, dangerous, and even mystical associations in a place as ordinary as a well. 

Repetitive rhetorical devices such as “He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do, / And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do” (Lines 16-17) also emphasize the juxtaposition of such a mysterious creature engaging in behavior that the poet usually encounters in domesticated animals like cattle.  

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A psychological analysis of “Snake”

“Snake” is simultaneously an easy and difficult poem to understand. The poem has a narrative line, which is easy enough to follow. However, its deeper meaning must be much more than a man regretting not paying appropriate homage to a snake. 

On the surface, a simple explanation of the poem would be the inherent conflict between natural emotional behavior and learned social behavior. “The voices of education” would represent the voices that encourage the poet to kill the snake.

On the other hand, emotional behavior represents the poet’s instinctive reaction of welcoming, admiring, and honoring the snake. The poet also makes an allusion to Coleridge’s famous albatross, the blessed bird that guides sailors back home safely, which when killed brought misfortune and tragedy to the crew of the ship. 

In short, with this interpretation, the poem is telling us we have to ignore the accursed voices of our education and pay to nature the respect and homage that it deserves. However, there are more compelling arguments as to what the poem means. 

After all, the poet launches a missile after the snake only after it was leaving and was finished with the business of drinking water. Surely, this was past the moment of danger. 

Lawrence and Freud 

To understand the deeper meaning of the poem, we should consider a psychological analysis. Such a psychological analysis is based on a few brief facts and history of the poet’s life and an analysis by George Y. Trail in his essay, The Psychological Dynamics of D. H. Lawrence's "Snake.”

First, it has to be pointed out that Lawrence disagreed heavily with Freud’s theories regarding the id and subconscious. The subconscious was thought of by Lawrence as pure, whereas Freud saw it as closely linked to all sorts of taboo desires. Trail explains in the following quote: 

What can summarily be said is that Lawrence found the unconscious, which  he associated directly with the id, "pristine." Freud, he reports, found in the unconscious only a "huge slimy serpent of sex, and heaps of excrement…” 

In a sense, we can say that Lawrence's snake is a cleaner and healthier version of Freud's "huge slimy serpent of sex." Before we proceed, we should provide a preliminary explanation of Freud’s psychological theories by looking at two concepts — 1. The relationship between the id, ego, and superego, and 2. the Oedipus complex. 

In Freudian psychology, the id, ego, and superego comprise the human personality. The id represents the dark primitive and instinctual accesses of the mind. It is driven by the pleasure principle and seeks after immediate gratification. 

The ego recognizes the importance of existing in the real world, and it mediates between the id and this external world of reality. In short, its job is to be pragmatic in negotiating between primal desires and real-world limitations.

 Lastly, the superego represents adherence to social morals and ideals. It serves as our guiding conscience in terms of how we behave and also as a source of guilt when social morals are violated.

Freud typically associated the id with dark urgings, including the incestuous desire hidden in all men to murder their fathers and sleep with their mothers. This is otherwise known as the Oedipus complex. 

Lawrence was offended by the idea that the id could be so sordid and saw it instead as a part of the self that was pristine and pure in its intention. In this light, “snake” can be read as Lawrence’s complicated reaction to Freud’s conception of the “id" and subconcious.  

Lawrence himself had quite liberal attitudes toward sex and was even known as a "prophet of sex." Nonetheless, despite his liberal attitude, he associated sex with a healthy and pure expression of one's inner self and found it difficult to reconcile it with the dark complexes, such as the Oedipus complex, that Freud associated it with.

The snake can be seen as a phallic symbol from ‘the burning bowels of the earth" or the well, which represents Earth or nature as a mother figure. The “fissure in the earth-wall” that the snake crawls out of can also be seen as the emergence of the subconscious and id. Lawrence’s positive attitude toward the snake then would represent his liberal or healthy attitude toward sex and the pristine nature that he associated with the subconscious. 

One could say here that from Lines 1–49, the poet’s ego is mediating between the id of the snake and the danger the venomous snake represents. He keeps a respectful distance while standing in fear and awe of the snake, never getting too close. 

At a first reading, “the voices of education” may represent the superego reminding the poet that he has a moral responsibility to kill the snake even if it doesn’t represent an immediate danger to him. In the future, the same snake may endanger the lives of other members of the society.

However, the poet ignores these voices and continues to admire the snake. We must remember that the poet throws a log at the snake only after the snake turns its back and returns into the fissure in the wall, as explained in Stanza 13:

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.

What does this mean? It could be that the poet could only go so far in agreeing with Freud’s concept of the id. After initially disagreeing with Freud’s sordid associations of the id and subconscious, he may have come closer to exploring the possibility of truth in theories such as the Oedipus complex and was, as he put it, horrified by it. 

In such a reading of “Snake,” the well would represent the mother and the snake the desire of the id to copulate with the mother as Freud put it. The snake retreating in “that horrid black hole” would have been too close to a re-enactment of the Oedipus complex and the poet throwing a log at the snake would be his expression of disgust at the idea. 

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2025, May 12). Snake by D. H. Lawrence: Summary & Analysis. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/snake-by-d-h-lawrence-summary-analysis