Judith Wright's poem "Hunting Snake" captures a fleeting, awe-inspiring encounter with a black snake, exploring themes of nature's sublime power, humanity's place within the natural world, and the primal cycle of life and death.
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
the poem hunting snake by the Australian
poet Judith Wright first appeared in her
1966 collection the other
half Wright is known for work that often
reflects her deep connection with the
Australian landscape and her environmental
environmental
concerns among the themes explored in
the other half are nature's power and
Humanity's relationship with the
environment in the poem The Speaker
accompanied by at least one other person
is walking through the countryside on an
unseasonably warm autumn
day all of a sudden they are stopped in
their tracks as a majestic black snake
sinuously Glides in front of them
oblivious to their presence the snake
doesn't falter focused as it is on
finding its next
meal the moment is over before it has properly
properly
begun even though it lasts for only
seconds this mesmerizing and
intimidating encounter has a profound
impact on the speaker and her
companion wri's precise and evocative
language creates a vivid sense of the
snake's silent Authority as it commands
attention without causing
harm the poem contrasts The Snake's
natural beauty and primal Instinct with
the human reactions of awe fear and
Fascination through this fleeting moment
Wright explores themes of the sublime in
nature Humanity's place within it and
the delicate balance between life and
death the poem comprises four stanzas of
four lines otherwise known as
quatrains it is written in iambic Tatam
dum dum dum D although WR does modulate
the Rhythm in places through
substitution of other metrical feet such
as trois dumi and spondy dum dum both to
give it rhythmic interest and to emphasize
emphasize
imagery enjambment and czura are also
employed to manipulate the Rhythm and
Pace the poem has a rhyme scheme of a b
a B in the first three quatrains and of
a b b a in the final
quatrain this shift contributes to the
poem's sense of closure as the a b b a
pattern encloses the lines in a tighter
more self-contained structure and
contrasts with the more open-ended a b a
b scheme in the earliest stanas
this change creates a feeling of
finality resolution and introspection as
though the poem itself is wrapping up
and folding
inwards it's as if the poem closes in on
itself just as the snake has passed and
left The Observers alone once more
contemplating the
experience the title hunting snake
immediately directs the reader's Focus
to the snake presenting it as an active purposeful
purposeful
presence the adjective hunting suggests
predation and evokes a sense of danger
setting up expectations of a powerful
creature driven by
Instinct it also implies a natural cycle
as hunting is part of survival in the animal
animal
world by Framing the perm around this
title write hints at themes of Nature's
raw unembellished Beauty and the way
humans are both AED by and distanced
forces the poem begins with wri using a
fronted adverbial to set the
scene sun wararmed in this late season's
Grace under the Autumn's gentlest Sky we
walked it's an unseasonably warm day in
late Autumn the sun is shining and the
sky shows no signs of any bad weather to come
come
wr's use of Grace which means courtesy
or good manners and the adjective
gentlest personifies Autumn as a
benevolent and nurturing presence
suggesting a harmonious and tranquil
moment in
nature this Serene image is further
enhanced not only by the enjambment here
which creates a flowing Rhythm but also
the sound patterning that right employs
the smooth sibilance of sun Seasons
Grace and sky as well as the consonant
nasal m in warmed and Autumn the
alliterated semivowel W in warmed and we
walked create euphonious auditory
imagery that complement the overall
feeling of beauty and Tranquility in the poem's
poem's
opening wr's use of a fronted adverbial
here allows her to set the scene before
juxtaposing the Serenity and Tranquility
of a rural stroll with a sudden halt
poised mid step signaled by the poem's first
first
czora and froze half through a
pace the verb froze not only evokes how
they immediately stop and stand stock
still so as not to attract
attention would also suggest that
perhaps their blood run runs cold with
fear the illusion to a chill contrasts
with the unexpected warmth of the day
and shatters the up to this point
peaceful and idilic
image the reason for this sudden halt is
revealed in the stanza final line the
great black snake went reeling
by note right substitution of a spondi
dum dum in the second foot of the line
the great black snake which creates
three stressed syllables in immediate
succession and enhances the gutteral
consonants of the C Sound in black snake
to perhaps help evoke the speaker's
sense of shock as well as the snake's
inherent sense of
power the verb reeling suggests a smooth
speedy and sinuous coiling motion as the
snake undulates and weaves through its
environment past them the fluidity with
which it moves not only emphasizes its
beauty but also its danger implying that
the snake is not only a creature of the
Earth but is also a master of its
surroundings able to navigate through
the landscape with ease and
stealth the second stanza focuses on a
physical description of the
snake head down tongue flickering on the
trail he quested Through The Parting grass
grass
once more a fronted adverbial gives
prominence to
description this time of the snake as a
predator oblivious to the fact that he
is being watched the snake is totally
caught up in the
hunt this sense is further enhanced by
the enjambment which forces the reader
onwards note how Wright assigns the
snake a gender with the use of the
pronoun he
by referring to the snake as he instead
of it she subtly grants the creature a
sense of
individuality without fully anthropomorphizing
anthropomorphizing
it she stops short of giving it human
qualities or
emotions but this choice of pronoun
acknowledges it as a living being with
presence and
purpose rather than just an instinct driven
driven
Predator it becomes more than a simple
symbol of nature or a killing machine
instead it feels like a creature with
its own agenda following its own
path this respect for the snake's
natural Integrity aligns with wri's
broader perspective on the natural world
seeing animals as beings in their own
right mysterious yet purposeful existing
Humanity the verb flickering to describe
the movement of the snake tongue evokes
the way it darts in and out effectively
tasting the air as it collects scent
particles and directs them to a sensory
organ on the roof of its mouth enabling
it to detect nearby prey Predators or
mates the verb quested lends a sense of
nobility to the snake's hunt for food
typically associated with heroic
Journeys or Noble Pursuits this word
elevates the snake's movements from Mere
survival to something purposeful and
Grand almost
nightly rather than just hunting or
searching the snake is on a quest an act
that implies intention Direction and
determination the way in which the grasp
pots suggests that in deference to The
Majestic reptile it moves of its own
accord out of the snake's way to allow it
through this idea is enhanced by the
image in the next line Sun glazed his
curves of Dimond
scale the verb glaze means to Overlay or
cover something with a smooth shiny
coating or finish and evokes the way the
sun makes his body
gleam the adjectival noun Dar not only
conjures the shape of the snake's scales
but also suggests their hardness like
armor and the way they glint in Precious
yet fearful Beauty as the sun catches
and reflects off
them indeed the sight is sufficiently or
inspiring that we lost our breath to see him
him
pass note the subtle difference between
holding your breath and losing your
breath the former is active while the
latter is
passive right's choice of words here
communicates how they don't seem to have
actions the third stanza continues to
explore their reaction to this chance
encounter which perhaps they only had
time to think about
afterwards what track he followed What
small food fled living from his Fierce
intent we scarcely
thought this mest of glimpses into the
natural world leaves lots of questions
unanswered the very nature of his
existence and the culmination of his
quest remains a
mystery note the complex sound passing
in these lines with the fricative
alliteration of followed food fled and
fierce combined with the liquid
consonants of the present in followed
small fled and
living the repeated forceful sound
suggesting the snake's power and
tenacity the way Wright refers to the
snake's prey as food that is still
living conveys her acceptance of the
circle of life highlighting the natur
natural order in which all creatures are
interconnected by using these Stark
terms she emphasizes the reality of
predation and the idea that life is
sustained through the cycle of life and
death this perspective invites readers
to reflect on the inherent relationships
within nature where each being plays a
vital role in the ecosystem and
underscores the balance that exists in
the wild
note WR syntax in the first two and a
half lines of this
stanza what track he followed What small
food fled living from his Fierce intent
we scarcely
thought this is an example of anastrophe
which is where the normal word order is
inverted for emphasis or
effect here right rearranges the typical
structure which might have been
something like we scarcely thought what
track he
followed this inversion creates a
slightly formal reflective tone
emphasizing The Mystery of the snake's
movements before the speaker's own
reaction to leave its path intriguingly
ambiguous the stanza continues still as
we stood our eyes went with him as he
went even though they are standing as
still as they can suspended in time for
just a few seconds there is one thing
that is moving that they cannot control
and that is their eyes which are fixated
upon the coiling questing
reptile note the enjambment here which
forces onward movement of the reader's
eyes as well and the Diop with the
repetition of the verb went which
enhances the image of their eyes moving
snake the final stanza begins with a
triplet of adjectives cold dark and
Splendid he was gone into the grass that
hid his
prey these three adjectives sum up the
Sublime Beauty of the coldblooded snake
and the fron of awe and fear that it
arouses as it leaves a lasting
impression of its
presence once more wght effectively uses
a fronted adverbial here to provide
additional descriptive detail about the
snake's qualities at the moment of its
departure arer essentially setting the
scene before the main Clause he was gone
into the grass that hid his
prey the moment is over we took a deeper
breath of day looked at each other and went
went
on released from their paralysis they
can finally Breathe Again both
metaphorically and literally as the
danger has passed note that Wright
chooses day rather than air here to
suggest that the snake's blackness are
something of the quality of the night
about it that they wish to
dispel the speaker and her companion
then merely looked at each other and went
went
on it would seem that the wordless look
they share between them before carrying
on with their walk is more eloquent than
anything they could actually say
capturing a shared sense of awe humility
and perhaps even vulnerability in the
face of Nature's quiet
power the silence reflects an
understanding that some experiences go
beyond words resonating on a deeper
instinctual level that doesn't need
explanation or
analysis in this moment they are united
in a profound almost reverent
acknowledgement of the natural world and
their place within
it in conclusion in hunting snake Judith
Wright presents a moment that reflects
Nature's autonomy and resilience
suggesting that the natural world exists
and thrives independently of
humanity the snake's indifference to The
Observers underscores Nature's self-
sustaining power as it remains oblivious
to human presence focused solely on its
path in this light humans may feel like
mere bystanders Surplus to requirements
as life continues effortlessly around
them Wright often explored Humanity's
place within a vast indifferent world
and this home serves as a quiet
reflection on our insignificance and
transience in the face of Nature's enduring
presence thanks for watching if you have
any questions please let me know in the
comments section below and I'll do my
best to answer them don't forget to
subscribe to my channel for more videos
on English language topics and exam
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
