The Snake Trying

Summary

This short poem deals with the idea that human beings should not be cruel towards
snakes. The snakes must be left alone.
The poem opens with the image of a snake being chased with a stick and trying to save
itself from being struck. The long bodied snake curves and curls its slender, thin body as it
makes an attempt to avoid the stick flung at it. The poet finds different shapes of the
snake’s curling body to be very elegant and fascinating. The snake moves softly through
the water of the pond to hide himself among the reeds, so that he is not hit by the stick.
The poet wants the person, who is chasing the snake, to let him go safely to his hide-out
among the reeds. The snake is green and small, is non-poisonous and therefore, cannot harm even young children. He was lying comfortably and peacefully on the sandy bank of the pond before
being noticed and chased with a stick by someone. But now he has taken shelter in the
green, slender reeds in the pond where he creates ripples while slithering in the water.

Comprehension Questions

Short answer type questions (to be answered in about 30 – 40 words each)

1. Why does the snake suddenly curve his body?
The snake, lying comfortably on the sands on the bank of a pond, suddenly realizes
someone is trying to hit him with a stick. When faced with danger, he twists and
wriggles his body and glides through the water to avoid being struck by the stick.

2. How does the snake look when he curves his slender body?
The snake curves his thin long body in quick movements as he glides through the water
to avoid being attacked. The snake looks quite beautiful and graceful to the poet.

3. Where does the snake start moving to avoid being killed?
The snake starts moving towards the pond to avoid being killed. He glides on the
surface of the pond’s water to reach slim and green reeds. Here he can easily
camouflage himself and avoid being detected and killed.

4. What is the poet’s request to the person chasing the snake?
The poet requests the person chasing the snake with a stick to let the snake go free, to
let the snake slither away through the water to the reeds where he may hide himself
and avoid getting hurt.

5. Why does the poet want the snake to be spared?
The poet wants the snake to be spared because he is non-venomous and hence
harmless. He cannot harm even a young child. Since the snake is not a threat to any
human being, there is no reason to kill him.

6. Where did the snake hide himself and how?
The snake hid himself among the green reeds growing on the other side of the pond.
He did this by merging his slender and green body with the slim and green reeds. This
camouflage helped him deceive the person who was trying to kill him.

7. What idea do you form of the poet’s attitude towards all living creatures?
The poet seems to be an environmentalist who has a loving attitude towards all living
beings. He seems to be conscious of the need to preserve the diversity of creatures to
maintain balance in the environment. Moreover, he believes that most species of
snakes are non-poisonous and they do not harm unless attacked.

Long answer questions (to be answered in about 100 – 150 words each)

1. The poem ‘The Snake Trying’ by W.W.E. Ross presents two divergent attitudes towards
the snake. Discuss both the attitudes.
OR

How does the attitude of the poet towards the snake differ absolutely from that of the
man with the stick?
The poem ‘The Snake Trying’ by W.W.E. Ross presents two divergent attitudes towards
the snake. The man with the stick shows a cruel and unsympathetic attitude. He
believes that all snakes are poisonous and a threat to human beings. Therefore,
although this particular snake is lying comfortably on the sandy bank with no intention
of harming anyone, the man chases it with the stick, the moment he sees it. The poet, on the contrary, has a loving and kind attitude towards the snake. He does
not find it to be ugly or terrifying. Instead, he finds beauty and elegance in his body
and displays appreciation for the appealing looks of this creature. Moreover, the poet
seems to have a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of the different varieties of
snakes. He informs the man with the stick that the snakes with thin, green bodies are
absolutely harmless and cannot harm even children. He does not want such a harmless
snake to be killed. Instead he should be permitted to escape to safety by hiding himself
among the reeds.

2. What characteristics can be noted about the poet from the poem ‘The Snake Trying’?
The poet’s concern and caring attitude towards the snakes emphasizes his values of
gentleness, kindness, and sympathy. His thoughtfulness towards all living beings can
also be noticed after reading this poem. We know that his thoughts are based on
sound scientific reasons when he tells that all snakes are not poisonous. The small and
green ones in particular are absolutely safe and cannot harm even children. We learn
that the poet is an environmentalist and believes in the preservation of animals when
he dissuades the man with the stick from killing the snake. His profound sense of love
for the innocent snake is also revealed when he requests the man to let the snake go
and hide amidst the slim, green reeds. The poet’s deep understanding about the
behaviour of snakes can be seen when he remarks that the snake can camouflage and
deceive the hostile person by merging itself into the green reeds.

3. How is the poem ‘The Snake Trying’ an inspirational poem?
The poem inspires the readers to cultivate a sympathetic and loving attitude towards all
living creatures. The poet shows how there is beauty in all creations of God, even in the
curling and curving body of the snake. He wants this beauty to be preserved. The poet’s
plea to the man chasing the snake is, in fact, his request to all to preserve the diversity
of nature. The poem inspires in the readers a sense of justice by stressing that killing an
innocent snake without any provocation is unfair. Animals may be killed only for self
defence, else they must be saved. The poem further motivates the readers to attain a
deep knowledge about the phenomenon of nature. By gaining a thorough knowledge,
one may be able to distinguish between the harmful and the harmless animals. Thus,
the poem motivates people to adopt humanistic and friendly feelings towards all living
creatures.

 Answers to Text book questions
Thinking about the Poem

1. What is the snake trying to escape from?
The snake is trying to escape an assault on him. He is being chased by a man with a
stick in his hand. The snake fears that the man wants to kill him by hitting him with the
stick. The snake intends to evade being struck by the stick.

2. Is it a harmful snake? What is its colour?
The snake is green and small. It is absolutely harmless as it is non-poisonous. It is
harmless even to the children and hence need not be feared or killed merely because
human beings consider snakes as harmful creatures.

3. The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty.
The poet uses the words ‘beautiful and graceful’ to describe the shapes of the snake’s
body. He uses the words ‘small and green’ to describe the snake’s size and colour
respectively. All these words connote admiration.

4. What does the poet wish for the snake?
The poet wishes that the snake be left unharmed. He wants it to go over the water into
the reeds to hide. He does not want any human being to feel threatened by the snake.
He desires a peaceful coexistence for the snake and the human beings.

5. Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away? Where does the snake
disappear?
The snake was lying on the sand till someone saw it and again chased it away. The
snake disappears in the ripples of water among the slim green reeds.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q 1 Read the given extracts and answer the questions that follow.

(a) The snake trying to escape the pursuing stick,
with sudden curvings of thin long body.
How beautiful and graceful are his shapes!
He glides through the water away from the stroke.
i. What is the snake trying to escape from?
The snake is trying to escape from someone who is chasing him with a stick.
ii. What looks beautiful and graceful?
The sudden curvings of the snake’s thin long body to escape from the stroke of
the stick look beautiful and graceful to the poet.
iii. Where does the snake go and why?
The snake hides himself among the slim green reeds in the water.
iv. Give the antonym of ‘pursuing’.
avoiding/ fleeing

(b) O let him go
over the water into the reeds to hide
without hurt .Small and green
he is harmless even to children.
i. Who does ‘him’ refer to in the first line of the stanza?
‘Him’ refers to the snake.
ii. Where is he going to hide and why?
He is going over the water into the reeds to hide in order to escape being hit
with a stick.
iii. Why does the poet say he is harmless even to children?
The poet says that the snake is harmless even to children because he is small in
size and green in colour.
iv. Find the synonym of ‘safe’
harmless

Q 2 Answer each of the following questions in about 30-40 words.

(a) What was the snake doing before it was attacked by someone? What did it do later?
The small green snake was lying unobserved along the sand before it was
attacked by someone with a stick. It glided towards the water to avoid being hit
and vanished among the slim green reeds.

(b) How does the snake look when he curves his slender body?
The snake curves his thin long body in quick movements as he glides through
the water to avoid being attacked. The snake looks quite beautiful and graceful
to the poet.

(c) Where did the snake hide himself and how?
The snake hid himself among the green reeds growing on the other side of the
pond. He did this by merging his slender and green body with the slim and green
reeds. This camouflage helped him deceive the person who was trying to kill
him.

(d) Why does the poet want the snake to be spared?
The poet wants the snake to be spared because he is non-venomous and hence
harmless. He cannot harm even a young child. Since the snake is not a threat to
any human being, there is no reason to kill him.

Q 3 Answer each of the following questions in about 100-150 words.

(a) How is the poem ‘The Snake Trying’ an inspirational poem?
The poem inspires the readers to cultivate a sympathetic and loving attitude
towards all living creatures. The poet shows how there is beauty in all creations
of God, even in the curling and curving body of the snake. He wants this beauty
to be preserved. The poet’s plea to the man chasing the snake is, in fact, his
request to all to preserve the diversity of nature. The poem inspires in the
readers a sense of justice by stressing that killing an innocent snake without any
provocation is unfair. Animals may be killed only for self-defence, else they must
be saved. The poem further motivates the readers to attain a deep knowledge
about the phenomenon of nature. By gaining a thorough knowledge, one may
be able to distinguish between the harmful and the harmless animals. Thus, the
poem motivates people to adopt humanistic and friendly feelings towards all
living creatures.

(b) How does the attitude of the poet towards the snake differ absolutely from that of the
man with the stick?
The poem ‘The Snake Trying’ by W.W.E. Ross presents two divergent attitudes
towards the snake. The man with the stick shows a cruel and unsympathetic
attitude. He believes that all snakes are poisonous and a threat to human beings.
Therefore, although this particular snake is lying comfortably on the sandy bank
with no intention of harming anyone, the man chases it with the stick, the
moment he sees it.
The poet, on the contrary, has a loving and kind attitude towards the snake. He
does not find it to be ugly or terrifying. Instead, he finds beauty and elegance in
his body and displays appreciation for the appealing looks of this creature.
Moreover, the poet seems to have a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of
the different varieties of snakes. He informs the man with the stick that the
snakes with thin, green bodies are absolutely harmless and cannot harm even
children. He does not want such a harmless snake to be killed. Instead he should
be permitted to escape to safety by hiding himself among the reeds.