NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 9 : The Snake Trying

W.W.E. Ross "The Snake Trying" narrates the story of a small green snake that is harmless yet seen as a threat by humans. The small green snake, being spotted by a man, is chased. The snake hurriedly slithers away to save its life from the onslaught of the man's attacks. Describing the movement of the snake, the poet describes it as "beautiful" with a thin long body.

The poet finds the snake's movements graceful, much to the contrast of the man's perception of the snake as a dangerous creature. The poet pleads for the man to let the snake escape. The snake glides over water and hides in the reeds growing there. With a tone of regret, the poet narrates that the snake was idly laying on the sand without hurting anyone. It is the man who found him awoke him from his idle state and chased him into hiding, although the snake is harmless even to small children, let alone grown-up men.

The poem presents unlikely imagery of the snake we perceive. Humans perceive all snakes to be dangerous creatures capable of great harm. In comparison to humans, the snake is a much smaller and simpler creature, yet we consider them a threat. Contrary to the idea that if something is dangerous instead of escaping, humans try to hurt it, evoking the question in our mind who is truly more dangerous? The poem gives us a sympathetic view of how the snake perceives a human. The snake here is stated as harmless, and it evokes a sense of sympathy in the reader. The sympathy is evoked due to its harmlessness rather than because of being attacked by someone.