Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s poem "The White Snake" is a vivid, surreal retelling of a classic folktale that explores the themes of knowledge, power, and the consequences of understanding the language of the natural world. Sexton, known for her ability to transform traditional stories into dark, introspective narratives, uses the tale of the white snake to delve into the complexities of wisdom, the responsibilities it entails, and the often unsettling truths that come with it.

The poem begins with a striking image: "There was a day / when all the animals talked to me." This sets the tone for a narrative where the boundaries between the human and natural worlds are blurred, and communication extends beyond the ordinary. The birds, worms, and dog speaking to the narrator represent a world where everything is alive, sentient, and capable of interaction, reflecting a deep connection to nature. The reference to "Dame Sexton" adds a personal touch, as if the poet herself is part of this fantastical world where animals and humans share an understanding.

Sexton then introduces the figure of the king, "as wise as a dictionary," who maintains his wisdom through a secret dish brought to him each night. This dish, containing the white snake, is the source of the king’s knowledge, but it is also a symbol of something forbidden and powerful. The servant, who has "won no roses before," represents the everyman, curious and tempted by the unknown. His decision to take a bite of the white snake, described as a "furtive weed, / oiled and brooding / and desirably slim," marks the turning point in the poem where the servant gains the ability to understand the language of animals, thereby acquiring wisdom akin to the king’s.

However, this wisdom is not portrayed as purely beneficial. The servant’s newfound knowledge comes with a heavy burden—he is thrust into a world where he cannot escape the voices of animals, "a building / with no exit." This knowledge isolates him, and the "cold sweat" on his lip symbolizes the anxiety and weight that come with understanding too much. Sexton’s imagery here suggests that wisdom is not merely a gift but a complex, double-edged sword that brings both enlightenment and alienation.

The poem follows the servant’s journey as he uses his wisdom to overcome various challenges, each time aided by the animals whose language he now understands. He finds the queen’s lost ring, saves drowning fish, spares the lives of ants, and sacrifices his horse to feed gallow birds. In return, these creatures promise to help him, and they do, ultimately leading him to succeed in a series of seemingly impossible tasks set by a princess.

This princess, who "smiled like warm milk," is a figure of power and capriciousness, testing the servant with tasks designed to ensure he is worthy of her hand. The challenges she sets—retrieving a ring from the sea, gathering scattered grains, and finding the apple of life—are all rooted in the traditional motifs of fairy tales, yet Sexton imbues them with a sense of inevitability and futility. The servant succeeds not through his own power but through the promises of the animals he helped, illustrating a theme of interdependence and the importance of kindness and humility in the face of overwhelming challenges.

When the servant returns with the apple of life, the princess accepts it, and their union is sealed with a kiss that is as "delicately as the white snake." This act of union, however, is not portrayed as a triumphant conclusion. Instead, Sexton’s tone shifts to one of irony and subtle critique. The couple is "placed in a box / and painted identically blue," their happy ending described as "a kind of coffin, / a kind of blue funk." This image suggests that the conventional "happily ever after" is not as joyous as it appears—it is, in fact, a form of entrapment, a loss of individuality and freedom.

The poem concludes with the question "Is it not?"—a rhetorical device that invites the reader to reflect on the nature of happiness, wisdom, and the roles we play in life. Sexton’s retelling of "The White Snake" challenges the traditional narrative of the fairy tale, suggesting that the acquisition of wisdom and the fulfillment of societal roles may lead to a life that is more confining than liberating. The "blue funk" of the final lines evokes a sense of melancholy, as if the ultimate reward for wisdom and perseverance is not the freedom or joy one might expect, but a subdued, almost resigned existence.

In "The White Snake," Anne Sexton masterfully blends the fantastical elements of a classic folktale with her own dark, introspective style, creating a narrative that explores the complexities of wisdom, the consequences of knowledge, and the often ambiguous nature of "happily ever after." The poem invites readers to question the conventional wisdom of fairy tales and to consider the deeper, sometimes unsettling truths that lie beneath the surface of these stories.

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