10.(b) 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 ? (Snake) (i) How did the poet feel about the snake's visit ?
10.(b) 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 ? (Snake) (i) How did the poet feel about the snake's visit ?
Official answer
The poet felt glad, pleased and honoured by the snake's visit — he liked the snake and was happy it came quietly, like a welcome guest, to drink at his water-trough before departing peacefully into the earth.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: any answer stating the poet felt glad / pleased / honoured / that he liked the snake and welcomed it like a guest.
- 2.Full mark for a single accurate feeling word supported by the text (e.g. 'glad', 'pleased', 'honoured').
- 3.No mark for answers describing only fear or guilt, as the question asks about his feeling towards the visit.
Hint
Focus on the words 'how I liked him' and 'How glad I was' — they name his feeling.
Quick oral answer
The poet felt glad and honoured — he confesses he liked the snake and was happy it had come quietly like a welcome guest to drink at his water-trough.
Common mistakes
- 1.Writing that the poet felt afraid — the fear belongs to a different part of the poem, not to how he felt about the visit.
- 2.Describing his later guilt/regret after throwing the log instead of his feeling about the visit itself.
- 3.Answering in a long paragraph when one clear line is enough for a 1-mark VSA.
Analysis and explanation
Feeling-based reference-to-context question from D. H. Lawrence's 'Snake'.
Concept
- The poet confesses his true reaction to the snake's visit: he 'liked him' and was 'glad' it came.
Key points
- The snake is compared to 'a guest in quiet' — an honoured, welcome visitor.
- This warmth contrasts with 'the voice of my education', which urged him to kill the snake.
Common mistakes
- Answering with fear, or the guilt felt later after throwing the log, instead of the feeling about the visit itself.
- The question specifically asks how he felt about the snake's coming, so the answer must be gladness/liking, not fear.
Real-world theme
- Highlights the poem's central conflict between natural admiration for a creature and socially conditioned instinct to destroy it.
Previously asked
Whenever we act against the voice of our conscience, the result is suffering. Explain with reference to the poet's action against the snake.
From the poems 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and 'The Snake', discuss how the characters, the albatross and the snake view human attitude and perspective towards creatures.
Interesting facts
'Snake' was written by D. H. Lawrence in 1920 in Taormina, Sicily, and describes a real encounter with a snake at his water-trough during a hot day in July.
Lawrence calls the snake 'one of the lords of life' and likens killing it to the ancient guilt of the Ancient Mariner who shot the albatross.
Question details
Q38 of 53 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 10
- Subject
- English (Communicative)
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section D
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- Very Short Answer
- Chapter
- Snake
- Topic
- Poet's feelings about the snake's visit
- Bloom's level
- understand
- Syllabus topic
- Section D: Poetry — 'Snake' by D. H. Lawrence: Speaker's Emotional Response
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
How did the poet feel about the snake's visit in the poem 'Snake'?
He felt glad, pleased and honoured. He confesses that he liked the snake and was happy it had come quietly, like a welcome guest, to drink at his water-trough.
Did the poet want to kill the snake?
No. Although the 'voice of his education' told him to take a stick and finish it off, the poet's own feeling was one of liking and gladness, and he later deeply regretted the one moment he acted against it.