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) (ii) Where did the snake depart after drinking at the water-trough ?
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) (ii) Where did the snake depart after drinking at the water-trough ?
Official answer
The snake departed into the burning bowels of the earth — that is, back into the hole in the earth (the dark hole in the wall-front) from which it had emerged.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: answer stating the snake departed into the burning bowels of the earth / into the hole in the earth.
- 2.Full mark accepted for 'into the earth' or 'into the hole in the wall / earth'.
- 3.No mark for 'into the water-trough' or answers not derived from the extract.
Hint
Read the last line of the extract — it names exactly where the snake went.
Quick oral answer
The snake departed into the burning bowels of the earth — that is, back into the dark hole in the earth-wall from which it had come.
Common mistakes
- 1.Answering 'into the water-trough' — the snake drank there but departed into the earth.
- 2.Adding unrelated details about the poet throwing the log, which is not asked here.
- 3.Writing a long explanation instead of the direct one-line location.
Analysis and explanation
Direct detail-recall question from D. H. Lawrence's 'Snake'.
Concept
- The line 'And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless, / Into the burning bowels of this earth' states exactly where the snake went after drinking.
Key points
- 'The burning bowels of this earth' is Lawrence's image for the dark, hot hole in the earth-wall through which the snake withdrew.
- The phrase also carries symbolic weight, evoking the mysterious underworld and the 'lords of life'.
Common mistakes
- Answering loosely with 'into the water-trough' or 'into the wall' instead of naming the earth/hole as the poem specifies.
Real-world connection
- Foreshadows the later scene where the snake puts its head into the 'dreadful hole' and the poet, seized by protest, throws a log at 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
Lawrence's image 'the burning bowels of this earth' reflects the poem's Sicilian setting near Mount Etna, an active volcano, reinforcing the sense of fiery depths beneath the earth.
The snake in the poem is described as gold and earth-brown, colours the poet says come from 'the burning bowels of the earth', linking the creature to the volcanic underworld.
Question details
Q39 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
- Where the snake departed
- Bloom's level
- remember
- Syllabus topic
- Section D: Poetry — 'Snake' by D. H. Lawrence: Detail Recall from Extract
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
Where did the snake go after drinking water in the poem 'Snake'?
It departed into the burning bowels of the earth — the dark, hot hole in the earth-wall from which it had emerged.
What does 'the burning bowels of this earth' mean?
It is Lawrence's vivid image for the deep, hot interior of the earth — the underground hole into which the snake withdrew, suggesting a mysterious volcanic underworld.