 Hello dear learners! Welcome to today's program. I'm Dr. Pallavi Gugoy of Krishnakanta Handik State Department University. Today I shall take up UDH 6, titled DH Lawrence and a poem prescribed as Snake. In this video, we shall discuss the major themes and the style and language employed in this particular poem. The name of the course is General English Semester 1, Block 1. So, let us quickly begin. First, I shall begin with a table of contents where we shall discuss the learning objectives followed by the major themes, style and language. Let us sum up questions to check keep progress followed by the references. So, let us begin. Starting with the learning objectives, after going through this third and final video of UDH 6, the learner will be able to explore the relevant themes pertaining to the poem, grasp the style and language employed in the poem, appreciate the core message contained in the poem. Coming to the major themes, the snake is one of the major themes in this particular poem. The central image in the poem is that of a snake which is gentle and means no harm to the narrator. In fact, the snake continues its normal activity of drinking from the water through even as it realizes that the narrator is present. Initially, the snake does not sense any form of danger that it may have to confront but in a few minutes it turns out that the narrator becomes a potential danger and almost a threat to its life. The snake in the poem is like a gentle person who quote-unquote softly and quote-unquote silently. Notice the words softly and silently used for the snake. The snake drinks its fill without disturbing anyone or causing any form of trouble. Although golden snakes in Sicily are considered as venomous, this earth-brown snake crawls away in fear even when it is provoked. The snake has a silent presence in the poem until it is compelled to hurriedly escape like a lightning to its own safety. Moreover, it appears to be jolted from its dreamlike state to its sense of reality. The snake's natural instinct is awakened the moment the narrator hurls and attacks. But the most important point is that the snake is innocent and means no harm even when it faces trouble. Snakes are widely seen as creepy and unpredictable being but the truth is they are more shy and self- defensive by nature. While many people regard snakes as unwanted creatures, there are many cultures across the world that worship snakes. For instance, in Indian culture snakes are worshipped on auspicious occasions such as Naakpanchumi or Shivratri. The poet too compares the snake to a quote-unquote god and to a quote-unquote king in exile or a quote-unquote king of the underworld. So these are the words used for comparison. God, king in exile, king of the underworld that maintains its sense of composure and gravity even in the face of danger. Next theme that is evident in the poem is man and education. When the narrator first notices the snake, he feels a sense of honour and amazement to unexpectedly find the visiting guest. Thus the initial response of the narrator is that of a hospitable reception but it is his voice of education, quote-unquote voice of education that comes in the way and causes him to switch his thoughts and actions. The rational or practical voice in his head led him to consider killing the snake as golden snakes were considered venomous. Moreover, his ego challenged him to get rid of the snake all at once without being swayed by his emotions but the truth was that the narrator liked the snake in its craze and innocence as well. So you see the mixed feelings that the narrator has towards the snake. Thus the narrator questions himself on whether it was cowardice that gave him a sense of fear and whether it was his perversity to talk to the snake up close or humility to have changed his thoughts of killing it for once and for all. Yet the voices in his head did not stop telling him that if you were not afraid you would not kill him. Though we are not sure if the snake is really killed or not but however the poem brings up the question about the narrator's own stance and response or reaction towards the innocent creature as the snake. We are trained or educated to be practical in all situations right from our school days and when the mind is molded in a practical way it is difficult to unlearn all that has been coded in our thought processes, isn't it? Also the narrator finds that it is difficult to justify one's actions and sometimes we simply end up doing things that reflect how our brains are wired in a unique way. Even after having regretted his own actions for almost having heard the snake, the narrator watches the snake in quote-unquote fascination as though it wears some kind of experiment. Then again it is the voice of education that makes him realize that his actions were quote-unquote petty and quote-unquote vulgar. So these are the words that are being used petty and vulgar that he had to expiate for. Coming to a silent language of the poem the first image that strikes a reader is that of a snake at a water trough on a hot day. Throughout the poem the charming presence of the snake is seen to fascinate the mind of the narrator who almost readily personifies the snake and refers to the snake as quote-unquote he. For instance the poet writes quote-unquote he was at the trough before me or elsewhere he writes quote-unquote he reached down from a fissure or even writes quote-unquote he sipped with his straight mouth and even goes on to write something like quote-unquote someone was before me so you see how the snake is being personified. The learner may take note of the narrator's self assertion with the use of his I my for an instance quote-unquote and I like a second comma waiting or my water trough or my wall face or even my snake. To cite just a few examples from the poem after reading the poem you'll get a better idea of what I'm talking about. The poem contains 74 lines written in free verse with the use of repetition similes metaphors and a number to boy. You may note that the narrator emphasizes his description of the snake's presence together with his own response through the use of repetitive phrases. Some of the examples are given here as you may note and also the poet makes use of similes. Through the use of similes the thirsty snake is compared to quote-unquote drinking cattle. The satiated snake is compared to that of quote-unquote one who has prunken. The sacred snake is compared to lightning. The grandeur of the snake is compared to that of a king in exile quote-unquote king in exile as well as to that of quote-unquote guard. Altogether the powerful presence of the snake and the muddle thoughts of the narrator are well presented in the words and images of the poem. The snake in its measure of soft silent and snake easing quote-unquote snake easing movements literally stirs the reader's imagination through the description of a narrator who tries to capture this moment of one particular day. So that is finally some of this unit in this third and final video. After having gone through this unit you will be able to discuss the life and works of the poet D.H. Lawrence. A thorough reading of the unit will also enable you to further explain the content, context and the relevant themes pertaining to the text of the poem snake. Also you'll be able to grasp the poetic techniques employed in the prescribed poem as we have just discussed. The study of the unit should enable you to explore and enrich your knowledge on the other interesting works by the poet. This brings us to the questions to check your progress starting with question number one. Describe the central image in the poem snake in a few words. Question number two what is the difference between earth brown snake and the golden snakes of Sicily? Question number three what does the poet compare the snake with? Question number four what is the major factor that tends to mold our minds in a particular way as also reflected in the poem snake? Question number five mention any two similes found in the poem snake. This brings us to the references. I hope you'd also refer to the BA English graduate self-learning material that is the SLM of Jail English top one semester one unit six. All the best and thank you dear learners.