Snake by Dh Lawrence
Michael Giese
English IV-4
Mr. Russow
SNAKE
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England on September 11, 1885. His poem Snake was written while he was living in Taormina, Sicily in 1920. The poem is actually derived from an experience there(Groliers). In all, Lawrence published 11 novels in his lifetime, 5 volumes of plays, 9 volumes of essays, and several short story collections. Of these, Snake was one of his most famous poems. The poem can also be related to Lawrence's views and experiences relating to his own life.
Lawrence's childhood was not a pleasant one. His parents did not get along very well and they were not wealthy. His mothers frustration with her marriage, his father's alcoholic degeneration, and their continual marital strife haunted his childhood and provided much of the conflict at the heart of Lawrence's work (Critical, 1948). Lawrence's mother struggled to do her best for them, in saving money and encouraging them to take their education seriously. The children had a rather troubled love for their father, who was increasingly treated by his wife as a drunkard who would never do well, and as a consequence he drank more to escape the tensions he experienced at home. Lydia Lawrence consciously alienated the children from their father, and told them stories of her earlier married life the children never forgot, things their father did for which they never forgave him. Arthur Lawrence, for his part, unhappy at the lack of respect and love shown him and the way in which his male privilege as head of the household was constantly being breached, reacted by drinking and deliberately irritating and alienating his family. His behavior, and his spending of a portion of the family income on drink, caused all the major quarrels between the parents, and divided the children's loves and loyalties (Worthen).
In 1912 he became smitten with "the woman of a lifetime," his former language professor's wife, the Baroness
English IV-4
Mr. Russow
SNAKE
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England on September 11, 1885. His poem Snake was written while he was living in Taormina, Sicily in 1920. The poem is actually derived from an experience there(Groliers). In all, Lawrence published 11 novels in his lifetime, 5 volumes of plays, 9 volumes of essays, and several short story collections. Of these, Snake was one of his most famous poems. The poem can also be related to Lawrence's views and experiences relating to his own life.
Lawrence's childhood was not a pleasant one. His parents did not get along very well and they were not wealthy. His mothers frustration with her marriage, his father's alcoholic degeneration, and their continual marital strife haunted his childhood and provided much of the conflict at the heart of Lawrence's work (Critical, 1948). Lawrence's mother struggled to do her best for them, in saving money and encouraging them to take their education seriously. The children had a rather troubled love for their father, who was increasingly treated by his wife as a drunkard who would never do well, and as a consequence he drank more to escape the tensions he experienced at home. Lydia Lawrence consciously alienated the children from their father, and told them stories of her earlier married life the children never forgot, things their father did for which they never forgave him. Arthur Lawrence, for his part, unhappy at the lack of respect and love shown him and the way in which his male privilege as head of the household was constantly being breached, reacted by drinking and deliberately irritating and alienating his family. His behavior, and his spending of a portion of the family income on drink, caused all the major quarrels between the parents, and divided the children's loves and loyalties (Worthen).
In 1912 he became smitten with "the woman of a lifetime," his former language professor's wife, the Baroness