The Snake / A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

The Snake is a poem written by Emily Dickinson in the 19^th century. In it, the poet describes what begins as encountering a snake in a field. I will be analysing this poem line by line so get ready :

A narrow Fellow in the Grass
Occasionally rides –

                By reading the above two lines, it is relatively easy to tell that the ‘Fellow’ being described is a snake in the grass. So why didn’t the poet just come out directly and tell us ? By not specifying the creature and by using words normally associated with humans (ie: Fellow, rides) the poet aptly personifies the snake.

You may have met him? Did you not
His notice instant is –

                Now look closely at the last line of the above stanza. This jumbled up manner of speaking may not be present merely for the heck of it. The twisted statement results in a vagueness in its meaning – is instant being used to describe us noticing the snake or the snake noticing us. Both are frightened in that one terrifying moment when they come face to face.

This twisted device links to the personification employed in the above two lines; it helps us think of the snake as being on our level.

The Grass divides as with a Comb -
A spotted Shaft is seen,

                The poet now returns to describing the sight of a snake slithering away in the grass. A simile comparing the parting of the grass in the snake’s wake to the way a comb parts hair is employed.  The usage of the passive voice tense in the second of the above lines ( ie: “is seen”, not I saw or he saw) appears to be used in order to make the experience being recounted more relatable and immersive to the readers.

And then it closes at your Feet
And opens further on –

                The grass closes in wake of the snake and a division of grass is seen further on as the snake slithers away from you. The snake is leaving. So who was more afraid? The snake or you?

The sudden switch in the object’s tense should be noted.  The snake closes at your feet. You are involved in the poem, caught deeper in its splendour. This is the poem pulling the reader in.

He likes a Boggy Acre -
A Floor to cool for Corn –

But when a child and Barefoot
I more than once at morn,

The first two lines in this segment don’t contain much relevance apart from the usage of the humanized pronoun ‘He’ to describe the snake; this is possible further personification.

The next two lines in the segment begin in an obviously nostalgic manner. It becomes apparent that these lines are the introduction to a moment in the narrator’s childhood.

Have passed I thought a Whip-Lash
Unbraiding in the Sun

On a surface level, the poet, whilst barefoot in a field thought she saw a whip (or a lash), that had been left in the sun so long ago it had begun to fall apart and unbraid.

These two lines are particularly poignant as the poet has employed some stunning wordplay and imagery. The ‘-‘ separating the whip-lash shows that it is not a whiplash(the motion of a whip) but is something of a whip and a lash. For those of you who don’t know, a whip or a lash was a long thin leather strip which, laying in a field would indeed look like a snake. The  whip-lash is used to describe the appearance of the snake. The whiplash that comes to mind however as one lightly reads the line, refers to the startled and sudden jumping back of a frightened snake.

The verb unbraiding has been brilliantly used to evoke vivid realistic imagery of the braid-like patterns on the snake skin. The present continuous tense in which the verb is used adds a sense of motion to the events, as if the snakes body itself is churning and contorting around itself.

When stooping to secure it
It wrinkled And was gone –

                The poet reaches down to pick up the whip when all of a sudden it disappears. It is at this point that we realize that, although we thought the poet was talking about a snake, she was genuinely talking about a whip. The fact that we assume that it was a snake goes to show the extent of the vividness of the imagery evoked.

Several of Nature’s People
I know and they know me

I feel for them a transport
Of Cordiality

                This paragraph is where things get a little complicated. The usage of the term Nature’s People can be interpreted to be talking about other creatures of nature such as insects, birds, etc. The fact that the poet makes a conscious effort to emphasize that they know her, shows that the nature of the bond between the narrator and nature is a two-way-street. The last two lines essentially display a feeling of gratitude at having the honour of ‘hosting’ nature. The author’s basically appreciating nature in this stanza.

But never met this fellow,

Attended or alone,

Without a tighter breathing,

And zero at the bone.

The fear that is evoked in the poet by the snake is aptly shown in this stanza by the usage of the phrase ‘tighter breathing’. The imagery is once more aptly shown here through the shortness of breath being described as tighter breathing. 

So what does the poem mean? What is it talking about? Well, like all art, there’s no right or wrong interpretation to the poem. Any interpretation is a good one. But seeing as how you are most likely reading this because you have your English exam on Monday, I’ll try to sum up the predominant schools of interpretation that exist with respect to the poem.

1)      The poem is actually about a snake and other animals. The poet speaks on the fear evoked in her by the terrifying sight of the snake. However, she is quick to juxtaposition this with the love and affection (cordiality) that she feels for other animals. By generating this contrast she induces the thought in the reader’s mind; why are we so afraid of the snake? Isn’t the snake just as afraid as us?

2)      The poem hints at the author’s distrust of people. In this context, which is a widely accepted take on the poem, the phrase Nature’s people, refers to the poet’s fellow human beings. She says that she feels glad to know them and happy to have them around. However, she knows the capability for deception, cunning and evil that all of us innately possess. Thus, she is curious as to why she is at ease with such deceptive and possibly evil creatures but frightened by something as innocent as a snake.

3)      The poem’s conclusion hints at sexual undertones. A large number of people, particularly expert critics of American Literature seem to believe that the snake in the poem is used as a ornately wrought metaphor for a dick. The phallus shape of the snake, coupled with the usage of words like whip and lash to describe it adds to this argument. In this context, the ‘tighter breathing’ referenced in the final stanza could be speaking of the skipped heartbeat we experience when we see a really hot chick or dude. The shortness of breath and the tighter breathing are positive in this scenario. Finally, the zero at the bone can be seen as symbolic of sexual intercourse, significantly the act of penetration.

      Personally, I feel that this is one of the least accurate interpretations of the poem. By likening the snake to a dick we force the poem into a very small, limited, and perverse scope. The other two interpretations are accurate and well established, but I felt I should mention this one as there appear to be a great deal of people who feel that this is a valid way of looking at the poem.

So, that’s it.

Good luck.

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