Snake Trying

CBSE|UP BOARD|ENGLISH SOLUTION|ENGLISH LITERATURE|CLASS 9th

Hello, Dear readers,

You, Exactly landed on right Place.

Today, I will be discussing the poem Snake Trying by William Wrighton Eustace Ross. I ensure you will get a complete idea to write the summary, central idea, and explanation of the poem orderly. You will be able to write the specification and figure of speech used in this poem too. After reading this page you will find the secret to score outstanding marks in the board examination.

Let’s get started

Introduction: In the poem ‘Snake Trying’, the poet himself considers the snake as a very dangerous creature, but as the poem moves further, he feels very pity towards it.

About the Poet

William Wrightson Eustace Ross was a poet and a geophysicist. He was born on 14th June 1894 at Peterborough, Ontario. Ross grew up in Pembroke, Ontario, and later attended the University of Toronto where he earned his degree in geophysics. We can see Ross’ passion for
the natural world in his poetry that focuses on Canada’s physical environment. He published only two collections during his lifetime: Laconic and Sonnets. After 1930 the majority of Ross’work was published in anthologies and literary magazines at the request of editors. Ross
remained relatively unrecognized during his lifetime. But now he is considered to be Canada’s first Imagist poet.

Poem Text: The snake trying

The snake trying
to escape the pursuing stick,
with sudden curving 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.

Illustration: In the above lines, the poet describes the snake’s fear which makes it escape the place. Here, somebody is running behind it to shoo it away, so the snake tries to run away and
hide somewhere; and in this process, his body curves out very beautiful. This makes the poet to put on the urge of letting the snake hide in the reeds without causing it any harm as it itself is very harmless even to the kids.

Figures of Speech

Transferred Epithet: It is a figure of speech in which an adjective qualifies a noun, other than the person or thing it is actually meant to describe. In other words, the modifier or epithet is transferred from the noun it is meant to describe to another noun in the sentence.
Example: The snake trying to escape the pursuing stick

Alliteration: The occurrence of the same consonant letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Theme

In the poem, ‘The Snake Trying’, the poet stresses on putting an end on killing any creature just on the basis of its ability to kill others. He puts forward the fact that any creature attacks us only when it feels unprotected; and that for sure is the part of human nature too. So, he requests the
whole human community to stop killing the innocent animals, through the example of the snake

Quiz: Check yourself

Question-Answer: The snake trying

Question.1: What is the snake trying to escape from?
Answer.1: The snake is trying to escape from the person following it with a stick.

Question.2: Is it a harmful snake? What is its colour?
Answer.2: No, it is not a harmful snake. It is green in colour.

Question.3: The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty.
Answer.3: The words the poet uses to convey the snake’s beauty are “beautiful” and “graceful”.

Question.4: What does the poet wish for the snake?
Answer.4: The poet wishes for the safety of the snake.

Question.5: Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away?Answer.5: The snake was lying on the sand till someone saw it and chased it away.

Question.6: Where does the snake disappear?
Answer.7: The snake disappears in the ripples of the water among the green reeds.

Question.7: How does the snake go through the water?
Answer.7: He glides through the water away.

Question.8: Where is the snake trying to hide?
Answer.8: The snake is trying to hide into the reeds.

Question.9: Where does the snake vanish?
Answer.9: The snake vanishes in the ripples among the green reeds

Content Writer- Vaishnavi Tripathi…… Edited by- Shahab Akhtar