Essay about Review of Snake by D.H. Lawrence

The detail increases the power the snake exudes in the perspective of the man. “Children, dogs, and horses…who weren’t as strong” compared to the snake, created panic and fear, because of its “six powerful fangs” and “little

The scene is first set up through the personification of the sun. The poet uses interesting diction and phrases, such as “dipping” and “geometries” to describe nature. The sun is described with human characteristics, “build[ing]” these “geometries and orchids” and “riding/The last tumultuous avalanche”. It is like an almighty being that is capable of anything, including the controlling of nature. The poet wants to portray nature as a hidden yet powerful force that should not be seen as a simple concept. Contrasts,

In the book collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self, author Danielle Evans suggests that the issue of race and how it affects families is still relevant in today’s society in a particular piece known as “Snakes.” Evans, an American writer, and educator set up the story “Snakes” to where the setting is constantly changing, which is reflective of the character changing as a whole. Evans suggests that at the beginning of this story, relationships between characters is shown through the layout of the setting. The setting begins in an airport in Tallahassee as the protagonist, Tara, is unsure and confused as to why her parents would

As the initial path of conflict between snake and man is developed, literary devices such as imagery allow the reader to more easily visualize and connect to the story. Descriptive imagery is the first literary device used in “The Rattler”. The use of “ Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long blazing hours” (The Rattler 1) in the opening of the piece encourages the reader to delve into the narrator’s life and experience what he feels. After the narrator abruptly sees the snake, the imagery changes from the peaceful rural life to a dark, intense description of the snake, “a six-foot black snake thick as my wrist, capable of long-range attack and armed with powerful fangs” (The Rattler 2), changing to the viewpoint of the snake for the reader. The switch in the use of imagery takes the reader through a completely different path and alters their emotional response to the story. The snake’s presence illustrates the narrator’s obvious fear and anxiety while allowing the reader to feel the same emotions

The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the

Another aspect to this poem that is very important would be the figurative language. The author uses a lot of similes and metaphors throughout further illustrate this father’s ridiculous ways. The speaker uses the simile “snaked like dragons” to describe the fire engines, this was a good choice in comparison because when you think of a dragon you automatically think of bright fires and then when you continue on the thought you think of their crouched down tiptoes

In the poem there is also an idea of man verses nature, this relates to the survival of the fittest. John Foulcher shows this through the use of first person point of view. For example in the second stanza “Then above me the sound drops” this again possesses sensory imagery creating a deeper human aura throughout the poem. Foulcher further uses a human aura to build a sense of natural imagery for example in the last stanza : “I pick up these twigs and leave them” adding closure

It is apparent from the first line of the poem that author is in a state of overriding fear travelling through the unknown: likening the road to an “old snake shedding its skin.” A snake is a clear representation of childhood fear and youthful paranoia, due to its intimidating nature. Walcott compares the path to a snake because he fears it just like a snake, to him the path is daunting and potentially deadly at first. The author not only compares the road to a snake but a snake shedding its skin. This paints a grotesque image for readers and illustrates how he views his initial journey with anything but enthusiasm. The author is in the unfamiliar wilderness searching for not only the storyteller’s house but himself. His state of childhood terror is only counterbalanced by his encounter with the storyteller.

The diction which is emphasized upon the story gives a clear picture of how everything happened in a sudden and fulfilling way. The man noticed that the snake “lay rigid” and had “suddenly arrested” and eventually watched him in calm watchfulness. The snake was placid and was not doing any violent action. The man, instead, decided to fulfill his duty concerning the community. The man describes seeing the snake as he looked like a “live wire” while his “tocsin sounded”. The man’s sudden encounter with the snake was still calm up until he decides to bring out the hoe.

The third stanza describes the snake as “cool and gleaming as a braided whip” (9-10). Describing the snake as a braided whip demonstrates the intricate woven pattern of the snake’s scales and the poet’s appreciation for nature and its’ beauty. The snake is not a useless piece of rubber, but a beautiful and vibrant part of nature. “He is as beautiful and quiet as a bead brother” (10-11). The snake is quiet, makes no sound, and snuggles into

In conclusion, Taylor's poetical structures are customary in their fundamental purposeful anecdote, their unpredictability and progression are profoundly unique. His lines move to an unpleasant rhythm; the verbs are solid, and the symbolism incredible. The excessive different method of expression and the relationship of picture and thought planned by its strain to strike poetic flashes makes this poem a perfect example of metaphysical

This poem opens with an extreme and vivid simile, “The bright wire rolls like a porpoise” (line 1). This beginning not only grasps the attention of the audience, but the image intensifying language that Kooser has chosen

A resistant reading of the poem uncovers the idea that religion, specifically the Judeo-Christian religious tradition, is intrinsically harmful and retrogressive in nature. If the ‘snake’ is interpreted as a synecdoche for Judaeo-Christian religious tradition as a whole, a profoundly negative opinion of such an ideology is formed throughout the poem. Without the ‘snake’ that is this religion, there would be no “pain and suffering”. The poem asks, “what could bear such a weight”, interrogating the conscience of religion, implying guilt on its behalf. Furthermore, the imagery suggested in the second stanza surrounding the snake’s “shadow” evokes negative ideas concerning the nature of the religion, which is further bolstered by its ability to “separate itself” from this shadow, and to “move on

In this discussion of Eliot’s poem I will examine the content through the optic of eco-poetics. Eco- poetics is a literary theory which favours the rhizomatic over the arborescent approach to critical analysis. The characteristics of the rhizome will provide the overarching structure for this essay. Firstly rhizomes can map in any direction from any starting point. This will guide the study of significant motifs in ‘The Waste Land.’ Secondly they grow and spread, via experimentation within a context. This will be reflected in the study of the voice and the language with which the poem opens. Thirdly rhizomes grow and spread regardless of breakage. This will allow for an

The man describes an identical situation at the end of the poem, saying, “Thoughts of a dry brain in a dry season” (76). The concept of nature as a source of order is based on its function as a cycle. The old man waits for the cycle to deliver him from his spiritually dry state to a place of fulfillment. But nature brings no change to the man and leaves him in the same arid condition in which he began. The failure of nature to provide a cycle is supported by the natural, stationary images in the poem, such as, “Rocks, moss, stonecrop, iron, merds” (12), and the “Gull against the wind, in the windy straits” (70), which shows nature forcefully impeding the progress of the bird, just as its lack of cycle reinforces the stagnation of the old man’s mind, body, and spirit.