Whenever we act against the voice of our conscience, the result is suffering. Explain with reference to the poet's action against the snake.

The poem 'Snake' by D.H. Lawrence dramatizes what happens when the poet suppresses his true conscience in favour of an external, conditioned voice.

Concept

• The poet's natural reverence for the snake (his conscience) is overridden by the "voices of his education" — inherited social conditioning that insists the golden snake is venomous and must be killed.
• Acting against the true inner voice, even under social pressure, brings immediate suffering and self-reproach.

Key textual points

• (i) The poet watches the snake drink at the water-trough with quiet fascination, feeling honoured, as though a god had come as a guest.
• (ii) The "voices of education" urge him that in Sicily the black snake is innocent but the gold snake is venomous and must be killed.
• (iii) Overpowered by this conditioned voice rather than his true reverence, he throws a clumsy log at the retreating snake.
• (iv) The snake convulses and disappears into a fissure; the poet is instantly filled with guilt, calling his act "paltry", "vulgar" and "mean".

Common mistakes

• Students narrate only the story sequence and skip the inner conflict between conscience and social conditioning, which is the actual focus of the question.
• Forgetting the albatross allusion (Ancient Mariner), a key detail establishing the theme of guilt and the need for expiation.

Real-world connect

• Shows how social conditioning and irrational fear can override innate compassion, leading to actions we later deeply regret — a reminder to trust one's genuine conscience over inherited prejudice.