Hunting Snake

Slide 1 - Introduction
Hunting snake is an autobiographical poem about the
conflict between Man and Nature, the poem represents the
snake as Nature being beautiful and powerful and the
bystanders represented as Man being fascinated but
losing interest as the snake parts through the grass.
Slide 2 Theme
Hunting Snake is a powerful poem where it shows the
conflict between Man and Nature. The reference to the
way the "sun glazed his curves of diamond scale." So
impressive is the snake in fact that the group of walkers
"lost breath" to see him, both through wonder but also
through fear because of the danger he represents.
Slide 3 Language Devices
The poem used a wide range of devices such as similes,
alliteration and metaphors, but the most distinctive device
used was Personification. Throughout the 2nd to the last
Stanza, the snake is being recognized as he or his
making the snake no longer an animal but a person.
Slide 4 Language Devices (2)
The whole poem is an extended metaphor of how Humans
mistreats nature and how ignorance is shown towards it.
Slide 5 Structure of the poem
Hunting Snake is written in a ABAB rhyme scheme except
for the last Stanza, where it represents that the snake is
gone along with the rhyme scheme. The techniques used
for the rhyme scheme was Iambictetrameter, where there
is 8 syllables per line. This poems rhymes because the
autor wants her poem to be memeable, so it is easy to
remember.

Slide 6 Tone
As the poem progresses, it starts off describing the beauty
of nature but escalates to a stressful and tense tone as the
snake appears. Throughout the poem, the snake is being
described as dangerous, powerful and evil where the
bystanders are amazed and baffled.
Slide 7 - Quote 1
The quote He quested through the parting grass shows
that the snake is no longer a snake but a human due to
the use of personification. Quested is also a word used for
a hero, so that the quote implies that Nature is good
where the humans are affecting and destroying nature
with their inhabitance.
Slide 8 The Message
This piece by Judith Wright was basically her conveying
her feelings of awe and fear towards the Snake (Otherwise
known as nature). Although the feelings are mixed, she
still explains how nature can beautiful and vast, but also is
dangerous and unpredictable.
Slide 9 Quote 2
The quote we scarcely thought, still as we stood our eyes
went with him as he went shows that the group of
walkers barely took any thought as the snake passed by,
also linking to how Humans look at nature passing on.
Slide 10 Stanza 1
The author uses words such as sun warmed and
gentlest skies to give us an idea of happiness and
calmness which creates a warm and harmonious
atmosphere.
Slide 11 Stanza 1

Then the snake appears, which shifts into a tense and

stressed tone, when she says, froze half through a pace.
The word black also gives us an idea of darkness and
something evil
Slide 12 Stanza 2
For the second Stanza, the author uses positive and
negative adjectives again to create an imagery to describe
the Snake, as if the creature can cause negative and
positive impressions in the same time.
Slide 13 Stanza 2 (2) Quote
The quote sun glazed his curves of diamond scale tells
us that the scales of the snake are precious, beautiful,
hard and refined just like the diamond. Relating to nature
meaning that Nature is beautiful and precious. Diamond
also meaning hard, which can relate to nature being
strong
Slide 14 Stanza 3
In stanza 3, it describes how the walkers are scared as the
snake passes by; the snake is being described as fierce
meaning that the snake is powerful and wild and the
situation intensifies.
Slide 15 Stanza 4
The mood changes in stanza 4 as the snake leaves the
scene, the line cold, dark and splendid, where 2
negative and 1 positive adjectives is used shows that the
snake is beautiful but wild in the same time.
Slide 16 The conflict in depth
Taking the conflict of man and nature into depth, the text
shows how humans act ignorant towards nature linking to
the quote we took a deeper breath of day. Looked at each

other, and went on meaning that Humans dont respect

nature.
Slide 17 How the snake is described
The snake being described throughout the poem was a
mixture of positive and negative adjectives where the
snake is being called beautiful and splendid but Dark
and cold giving off mixed feelings for the snakes.
Slide 18 Application to the subject (Nature)
So when the adjectives Beautiful, splendid, dark and
cold being applied to Nature, it describes nature to be
Beautiful but dangerous (eg. Natural Disasters). The
author describes nature to be mysterious and
unpredictable which brings out the beauty of it.k
Slide 19 Intention of the poem
The author of this poem intended for the audience to
change their ways of treating nature, to help improve the
environment, for example, to improve the littering
problem and to help to prevent global warming.
Slide 20 Author
Judith wright who was an Australian poet and
environmentalist was born on 1915 at Armadale, New
South Wales but grew up at Brisbane and Sydney and died
at 2000 at the age of 85. Judith Wright composed Hunting
Snake as a awareness of nature and its beauty.