Hunting Snake by Judith Wright.

Sun-warmed in this late season's grace
under the autumn's gentlest sky
we walked, and froze half-through a pace.
The great black snake went reeling by.

Head-down, tongue flickering on the trail
he quested through the parting grass;
sun glazed his curves of diamond scale,
and we lost breath to watch him pass.

What track he followed, what small food
fled living from his fierce intent,
we scarecly thought; still as we stood
our eyes went with him as he went.

Cold, dark and splendid he was gone
into the grass that hid his prey.
We took a deeper breath of day,
looked at each other, and went on.

In Australia there are 140 species of land snakes, some equipped with venom more toxic than any other snakes in the world. Bites, however, are quite rare. Fatalities are low: between 4-6 deaths a year. It is interesting to note that 21 out of 25 of the world's most venomous snakes live in Australia. The fierce snake is the inland taipan which is the most poisonous snake in the world.

Judith Wright was born in 1915 and died in 2000. She was a critic, a short-story writer as well as a poet, a nature poet. She was also a conservationist campaigning for the rights of Aboriginal people. In 1946 she made her debut with The Moving Image. When you have studied this poem you might find it interesting to have a look at D.H.Lawrence's poem Snake. It is more powerful but shows a similar awe-struck observation, a sense of the persona stopping dead in his/her tracks.
Wright's poem is divided into three sections in terms of the content:

the description of the snake:
the effect the snake has on the speaker and her walking companion;
the brief mention of the creature being hunted.

The poem is regular in that each stanza has 4 lines, each line has 8 syllables. The rhyme pattern is similar for the first 3 stanzas but not the final one. Commenting on the structure of the poem is therefore significant. You would talk about the regular pattern of the first three stanzas and the significance of the final stanza where the pattern has been deliberately broken. When you explore the poem you would need to say why Wright has done this.

Think about why the poet uses grace and gentlest and the impression created. Contrast sun-warmed  with froze. Why would she use a paradox here?
Describe the physical qualities of the snake which are all highly positive, admirable characteristics in spite of the fact that this is a dangerous beast. Why does she use reeling? Think of the action and movement of a fishing reel used to catch the fish and hawl the fish in. Was it the snake reeling or the poet and her companion? Could it mean losing one's balance, staggering or lurching forward?

Now look at the majestic qualities of the snake: the force of the parting grass; glazed; diamond and we lost breath.

In stanza 3, Wright uses simple alliteration of food, fled and fierce. It ttalks about purpose, reminding us of the title: Hunting Snake. The snake had every right to be there.

Chart the reactions of the speaker and her companion to the snake as described by Wright in each stanza. Then think about how these words convey their reactions. Are their reactions one and the same or are they different?
Then consider the final two lines of the poem and discuss their relationship with the rest of the poem.

Look at the examples of monosyllabic words. Some lines have words of one syllable like the food, fierce and fled. She doesn't want flowery, complex words to get in the way of understanding the experience and what affect it had on both of them. Are there any lines where this feature particularly compements or reinforces the content/meaning of the poem?

Parts of the poem stress sound. Try to comment on the effects created.

In terms of thematic links with C.I.E. it fits into nature with Pied Beauty, Horses, Pike, The Woodspurge, Where I Come From and Upon Westminster Bridge.
It also fits into personal reflection with A Different History, The Woodspurge, The Cockroach, Summer farm and Where I Come From.

An essay to attempt:

"Cold, dark and splendid" is how Wright describes the snake. What effect does the snake have on the writer and her companion? Discuss using close reference to the poem and well-supported references.

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