Today’s poem is chosen and introduced by Head of English, Mr Fernandes.
“Today’s poem is by Denise Levertov. She was born in Ilford in 1928, and she was educated at home. Levertovs mother read nineteenth century novels aloud to the family, and she encouraged her daughter to read poetry. Her father filled the house with second-hand books, and he wrote in Hebrew, Russian, German and English. With her home abuzz with literary activity, it is perhaps no surprise that the five-year-old Levertov declared that she would be a writer. By the age of 12, she sent some of her poems to T. S. Eliot, who replied with a two-page letter of encouragement. In 1940, when she was 17, Levertov published her first poem. She was 23 when her first book, The Double Image, was published.”
To the Snake
Green Snake, when I hung you round my neck
and stroked your cold, pulsing throat
as you hissed to me, glinting
arrowy gold scales, and I felt
the weight of you on my shoulders,
and the whispering silver of your dryness
sounded close at my ears
Green Snake I swore to my companions that certainly
you were harmless! But truly
I had no certainty, and no hope, only desiring
to hold you, for that joy,
which left
a long wake of pleasure, as the leaves moved
and you faded into the pattern
of grass and shadows, and I returned
smiling and haunted, to a dark morning.
“This poem is full of contrasts, which might point towards the mixed emotions that the speaker feels about holding a snake. Even the elements of beauty, like the glinting arrowy gold scales, contain a reference to a weapon. The whispering silver of the snake seems magical, but can we detect a hint of fear that it sounds close at [her] ears? Why does the speaker need to convince her companions that certainly the snake is harmless?
Do we see the speakers courage emerging here? She relishes the experience of holding the snake. It leaves a long wake of pleasure, leaving her smiling but nonetheless haunted. Students, have you had this experience before? Were any of you reluctant at Animal Club and then later very glad that you overcame any fears?
Do we think that the choice of a snake in this poem is particularly symbolic? Where else do we see snakes in written texts? Are common perceptions of them correct? Do we incorrectly impose human characteristics upon animals? Levertov writes in another poem that No man is so guileless as/ The serpent. In other words, no human is as innocent, or without deception, as a snake because these are human constructions. In The Cat as Cat, the speakers cat becomes a metaphor only if [she]/ force[s] him to be one. Levertov questions the very job of a poet writing about nature. Are we getting anything right when we describe the natural world? Does that matter?
Perhaps we could try out some of the things found in todays poem. Courage, determination and constant questioning – a few pillars that sound reasonably useful.”
