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Question
What is the dilemma that the poet faces when he sees the snake?
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Solution
The poet is caught in between human instinct and rational thought. Human instinct makes him appreciate the snake and love animals. However, the voice of human education or rational thought says that snakes are poisonous and therefore should to be killed.
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For he seemed to me again like a king.
Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Now due to be crowned again.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords
Of life.
And I have something to expiate:
A pettiness.
(a) Why is the snake called a king in exile?
(b) What is the pettiness referred to in these lines?
(c) What does the word ‘underworld’ mean?
What does the poet compare the snake's drinking habits to? Why?
Why did the poet have to wait near the water trough ? (Snake)
Snakes generate both horror and fascination. Do you agree? Why/Why not?
Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following question by ticking the correct option:
- 'Asort of horror , a sort of protest overcame me' - The poet is filled with protest because
Answer the following question briefly:
In stanza 2 and 3, the poet gives a vivid description of the snake by using suggestive expressions. What picture of the snake do you form on the basis of this description?
Answer the following question briefly:
Do you think the snake was conscious of the poet's presence? How do you know?
Answer the following question briefly:
The poet has a dual attitude towards the snake. Why does he experience conflicting emotions on seeing the snake?
Answer the following question briefly :
'I have something to expiate'-Explain.
Read the given excerpt and answer the questions briefly.
| 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? |
- What can be inferred about the speaker's attitude towards nature based on the excerpt? (1)
- List the meaning of the phrase "burning bowels of this earth”. (1)
- How is the snake's arrival and departure symbolic? (1)
- The speaker compares the snake to the guest. Which word in the extract displays the snake’s non-guest like behaviour? (1)
