Lawrence

Lawrence is very different from the other poets we have read. His poetry is much easier to understand compared to the others. It was a quite a relief after reading Eliot. Lawrence didn’t write with a specific intention. He wants us to interpret it for ourselves. There are no wrong interpretations. For example, “Snake” can be read several ways. My interpretation is that the narrator was taught to kill poisonous snakes. He doesn’t exactly understand why he is supposed to, but he kills them regardless. One day he sees a snake peacefully drinking water. The snake is not harming anyone, so he is unsure whether to kill the snake. He felt obligated to kill it because of his upbringing. He attempts to kill the snake and regrets it in the end. He felt he had to attack, but he did not have a real reason behind it. Perhaps Lawrence was trying to get the message across that we shouldn’t be attacking other people especially without a justifiable reason.

“The Ship of Death” reminded me of Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium.” They both are about aging. Lawrence wrote this poem close to his death. His attitude about death is very negative. He is angry because he does not understand what is going to happen after he dies. He says that death is empty. It is a long voyage that we have to prepare ourselves for. I don’t think death is something that we can fully prepare for. We know it is going to happen, but there is nothing we can do to make it easier. Everyone has to deal with death, but it is very different when you are the one facing it.