Hunting Snake - Judith Wright

Hunting Snake

Judith Wright

Summary of the poem:

The author writes about her dangerous encounter with a snake as she and her companion (who remains unnamed) were taking a stroll in the beautiful autumn weather. This poem is allegorical yet realistic, as it can be interpreted in many ways.

Significant poetic devices and their significance

Looking at the structure:

1.       Consistent rhyme scheme (ABAB) which is destroyed at the last stanza when the rhyme scheme changes (ABCA). This could indicate a sudden shock when put in the perspective of the poet upon realising what a dangerous experience it was only AFTER the incident. The fact that it starts to rhyme towards the end shows that the poet is already starting to get her thoughts back in order, illustrating how little of an impact this snake had on her life in the long run. The fact that she could maintain the rhyme scheme to that point also demonstrates that she was forcing herself to keep calm throughout the whole time and it was only after the incident that she allowed herself to panic a little.

2.       Organised four-line-a-stanza structure.  Verifies the poet’s ability to keep calm and not let her whole composure slip throughout the event, even when her rhyme scheme does.

Literary level analysis

1.       Caesura found in the first stanza in the third line. “we walked, and froze half-thought a pace.”  

a.       The use of the caesura is to create a sudden stop in the reading pace of the reader to emphasize on how similarly the reader stop reading for a moment, the poet freezes when put in the situation described. This is used as a tool by the poet to create a deeper sense of empathy as the reader experiences something closer to the poet at that point described in the poem.  Note that there were no full stops or any form of punctuation before the full stop and hyphen to create the pace before the stop.

b.      Alternatively, the use of the full stop implies that the narrator was previously stuck for thought, making the surprise of having a snake (or a threat for that matter) even more dangerous and surprising, creating a degree of tension.

2.       Hyperbole found in the “sun glazed his curves of diamond scale”  in this way she relates the snake to something of a dragon as they were usually regarded to have ‘scales as hard as diamond’. Dragons are usually regarded as majestic creatures although mythical and that we are bias due to the media and in society in a way as they are similar in many characteristics and we are basing our judgement based on their name only.

3.       Juxtaposition found in the last stanza in the phrase “Cold dark and splendid”  this indicates how the snake brings about its own special kind of beauty and how it is one that only certain people to learn to appreciate. In this way she could be saying that we have judged the snake wrongly, and that it is not actually a creature of evil, of which the judgement could have come from:

a.       “Anaconda” the movie

b.      The Bible in the book of Genesis

and that we should all learn to appreciate it rather than hate on it. It is after all, a creature of God.

Word level analysis

1.       Use of the first two lines of the first stanza to create a beautiful setting.

“Sun-warmed in this late season’s grace

Under the autumn’s gentlest sky”

This is used by the poet to create a calm setting, to lower the reader into a false sense of calm. This is used by the poet to create a greater contrast of the atmosphere before and after the presence of the snake is noticed. Perhaps the companionship does the same effect as you do not feel so vulnerable to the wild with a companion with you to aid you in times of trouble, thus the word “we” at the beginning of the third line in the first stanza.

2.       The word “quested” in the line “he quested through the parting grass”  found in the second stanza on the second line indicates how, in the snake’s perspective, the small path he is taking in our eyes look like a quest in his eyes. This could make the snake look adorable in a way as it is dealing with something big for him and small in our eyes. This could be used by the poet to try and change the stereotype surrounding snakes, that they should be creatures that should be adored like any other animal and not treated differently.

3.       “What small food fled living from his fierce intent” This indicates a sense of power that the snake possesses, which may show how the snake rules over many of the animals in the particular area, and that all should be smart to stay wary of it. It also display’s how skilled the snake at hunting that even animals know well to stay out of its hunting range. The snake’s prowess might be the reason that the title of the poem is called Hunting Snake in the first place. It can be this trait that also tells us how much this creature should be respected and we should study it and appreciate its characteristics rather than stay as far away from it as possible in fear.

4.       “Our eyes went with him as he went” This indicates a sign of curiosity from the poet and to express onto the reader how little is known about this creature that it still remains so mysterious to us and how we should learn about it. Note how it is just the “eyes” that went with him as he went, showing a sign of caution, illustrating the fact that we should still be cautious when approaching this creature to study as it is still potentially dangerous.

Speaker of the poem: The writer herself, Judith Wright

Speaker’s attitude toward the subject of the poem: Curious, frightened, tense, scared… etc

Paired poems (Identify poems in the anthology and why they are appropriate to be paired)

1.       The Pike as both poets describe the creatures described as one of potent power, mystery, and a form of beauty that only some can learn to appreciate.

2.       The Cockroach in the allegorical approach as they both have intrinsic meaning. The Cockroach about the author’s reflections in the actions of the cockroach, and how we tend to stereotype people based on other people’s judgements and the action of one in Hunting Snake.

3.       Horses in the sense that there is great exaggeration and hyperbole when describing the horses in Horses, while there is a lot of description and exaggeration found in the actions of the Snake in Hunting Snake.

Memorable lines

1.       “We walked, and froze half-thought a pace.”

2.       “Cold, dark and splendid he was gone”

3.       “We took a deeper breath of day, looked at each other, and went on.”

4.       “ Sun-warmed in this late season’s grace under the autumn’s gentlest sky”