Ronald Walker
USA
Snake and the Issue of Homosexuality for D.H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence's "Snake" poem has a vitality and intensity that exceeds its simple narrative structure and straightforward content. Taking this as a starting point in the paper, I explore biographical elements of Lawrence's life at the time he wrote the poem in July 1920, understand the poem and its various psychological underpinnings. Lawrence had many severe problems in his marriage, and his wife had accused him of impotence. The couple were trapped while visiting in England by the outbreak of World War I. As soon as Frieda Lawrence was able, she went to Germany in October 1919 to visit her family. Lawrence went to Italy where he met with Norman Douglas and his companion Maurice Marcus. Both Douglas and Marcus were homosexuals; Lawrence was charmed by Marcus who was a complex character as well as a con artist.
Frieda soon returned to Lawrence in Florence, but Lawrence went at Marcus's invitation to visit him at the monastery of Monte Casino where Marcus was staying. Marcus hoped Lawrence would help him get a manuscript published. He was seductive to Lawrence, and Lawrence departed within a week. He returned to Frieda and they moved to Sicily. Marcus turned up at their house there wanting to stay after he'd left Monte Casino precipitously when the police arrived to arrest him for using bad checks. He was rejected by Frieda but stayed on in Sicily, and Lawrence met up with Marcus again when they both chose to go to Malta at the same time. Lawrence spent time with Marcus there, and he wrote to Douglas that he could have easily seduced Lawrence who soon returned to Sicily. He wrote "Snake" soon after. The paper will elucidate the poem in light of Lawrence's conflict about his homosexual desires suggesting that Lawrence never actually involved himself in homosexual activity at any time as many critics suggest.