THE SNAKE TRYING (Beehive)

 ABOUT THE POET

William Wrighton Eustace Ross was born on June 14, 1894 in Ontario, Canada. He is hailed as the "First Modern Canadian Poet" for his mass contribution towards Canadian literature, especially in  poetry. His first collection of poetry was "Laconic" which included his most famous poems like "The Fish," "The Diver," "The Snake Trying,". His poems contained the influence of imagist poets like e.e. cummings and Ezra Pound. His famous works include: Laconic, Shapes and Sound, The Diver, The Ice, The Dawn; The Birds

 

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. O let him go 
over the water 
into the reeds to hide 
without hurt. Small and green 
he is harmless even to children.

 

Along the sand
he lay until observed
and chased away, and now
he vanishes in the ripples
among the green slim reeds.

 

 

1.     What is the snake trying to escape from? 

The snake is trying to escape the person who is chasing it with a stick and is trying to hit it. 

2.      Is it a harmful snake? What is its colour? 

 The snake is harmless. It is green in colour. 

3.      The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty. 

The words used to describe the snake are beautiful and graceful. 

4.     What does the poet wish for the snake? 

The poet wishes for the snake that it be left unharmed. He wants the snake to go over the water and further into the reeds to hide.

5.     Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away? Where does the snake disappear?

 Before it was seen, it was lying in the sand. It disappears behind the marshy plants.

 

6.     What is the snake trying to escape?
(a) stone
(b) bullet
(c) mud
(d) stick

 

7.     What is our opinion about most of the snakes?
(a) fearsome symbols of death
(b) faithful friends
(c) loyal to the human being
(d) not harmful to us

 

8.     In what words does the poet express the beauty of the snake?
(a) beautiful and graceful
(b) pretty
(c) smart
(d) handsome

 

9.     What is the literary device used in this poem?
(a) allegory
(b) alliteration
(c) personification
(d) None

 

10.  Where does the snake vanish?
(a) in the water
(b) in the reeds
(c) in a house
(d) none of the above

11.  What is the message conveyed in the poem?

The message that the poet wants to convey through this poem is that it is not the snakes that are dangerous but humans that are dangerous to snakes because snakes only attack when they see danger from the person.