The Annotated Edition
Snake by D. H. Lawrence
Read aloud in ~1 min
A man approaches his water trough on a steamy Sicilian morning and spots a snake drinking there ahead of him.
- Poet
- D. H. Lawrence
- Themes
- beauty, freedom, identity
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
A man approaches his water trough on a steamy Sicilian morning and spots a snake drinking there ahead of him. He watches it, captivated and amazed, but then — influenced by his "education" that insists the snake is a threat and must be eliminated — he hurls a log at it, forcing it to flee. As soon as it vanishes, he is overwhelmed with shame and regret, realizing he has taken away something truly magnificent.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone shifts across different registers within the poem. It starts with a sense of quiet wonder—almost reverent—as the speaker observes the snake. Then, it becomes tense and conflicted as two internal voices clash. After throwing the log, the tone transforms into sharp self-reproach and real grief. There's no comfort at the end; instead, it offers a candid acknowledgment of human smallness in relation to the natural world.
§04Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The snake
- The snake embodies multiple layers simultaneously. It exists as a real creature while also representing wild, instinctive life—the raw power of nature that civilization often teaches us to fear and eliminate. Lawrence also references the biblical serpent, but he flips the narrative: in this case, the snake is portrayed as noble rather than malevolent.
- The water-trough
- The trough serves as a connection between humans and nature. Both people and snakes require water, highlighting a fundamental need shared by all living beings. This trough creates a sense of equality between the speaker and the snake, a notion that his 'education' struggles to embrace.
- The log
- The awkward, nearly involuntary weapon the speaker throws symbolizes the worst aspects of conditioned human behavior — a reflexive display of dominance that lacks any real purpose. It's neither brave nor necessary; it's simply driven by fear and insecurity.
- The fissure / underworld
- The crack in the earth wall where the snake slithers out and back again represents a deeper, ancient world that lies beneath human civilization. The snake is part of that world; the man is not, and he is aware of this.
- The Sicilian heat
- The extreme heat strips away social pretenses and pushes the speaker into a straightforward, unfiltered interaction with nature. In this kind of environment, instinct should take precedence over education — so the speaker's inability to heed his instinct becomes even more troubling.
§05Historical context
Historical context
Lawrence wrote "Snake" between 1920 and 1921 while he was in Taormina, Sicily, and it was included in his 1923 collection *Birds, Beasts and Flowers*. This collection represents Lawrence's effort to explore the non-human world without imposing human emotions on it. He aimed to face animals as truly different rather than projecting human feelings onto them. Lawrence had a strong distrust of what he termed the "mental consciousness" of modern Western society, which he believed had distanced people from their instinctual, physical selves. "Snake" embodies this struggle. While it belongs to a long line of encounter poems, Lawrence's use of free verse and a conversational tone marked a clear departure from the more formal nature poetry of earlier poets.
§06FAQ
Questions readers ask
The poem suggests that contemporary education and societal norms instill a fear of and a tendency to destroy things that are, in fact, beautiful and powerful. The speaker feels an instinctive admiration for the snake, yet his upbringing compels him to kill it. He follows that impulse and instantly feels remorse. Lawrence conveys that civilization has diminished us rather than enlightened us.
Not from real danger or true fear, but from a sort of social pressure — the voice of his 'education' insisting that he must kill a venomous snake. He does it almost against his better judgment, and the poem clearly shows this act is one of cowardice rather than bravery. The snake was already moving away peacefully.
The snake symbolizes wild, instinctive life—its own natural world, untouched by human notions of good and evil. Lawrence intentionally references the biblical serpent but reverses its connotation: this snake is not a tempter; rather, it is a 'lord of life,' something truly noble that the speaker neglects to appreciate.
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner kills an albatross—a bird often seen as a good omen—and then spends the rest of his life tormented by guilt. Lawrence draws on this reference to suggest that the speaker has also committed a spiritual crime: thoughtlessly destroying something sacred. This shifts the focus from a minor incident to a significant moral failure.
Sicily sets the poem against a backdrop that feels both ancient and raw—quite a contrast to the industrial England where Lawrence was raised. The intense heat and volcanic soil (with Lawrence being close to Etna) amplify the feeling that the speaker is surrounded by fundamental forces. It's a place where nature truly commands respect.
He refers to the social and moral conditioning we've accumulated that dictates our behavior — specifically, that dangerous animals should be killed and that admiring a venomous snake is irrational. Lawrence views this voice as an obstacle to authentic experience. It doesn't represent wisdom; instead, it's conformity masquerading as common sense.
Yes, it's written in free verse without a consistent rhyme or meter. Lawrence picked this form because it reflects the poem's theme: like the snake, which moves at its own leisurely speed, the verse flows in the same way. A strict structure would have forced a human order onto nature, which is exactly what the poem critiques.
Lawrence spent much of his career contending that Western civilization has favored rational thought at the cost of instinct, the body, and our connection to the natural world. 'Snake' serves as a concise dramatization of that viewpoint. The speaker *understands* the snake's magnificence — he senses it — yet his trained intellect dismisses that feeling. For Lawrence, this struggle reflects the core tragedy of modern existence.
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