17 pages • 34 minutes read
Theology
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Symbols & Motifs
How the Apple Symbolizes the Speaker’s Corruption
It’s not a foregone conclusion that the fruit Eve eats is an apple. In the King James Version, the fruit remains unspecified; it could be an apple, but it could also be a peach, pear, or orange—all fruits that grow on trees. While the speaker addresses the “[c]orruption of the facts” (Line 4) when it comes to who consumes who and what, their story is suspect: It relies on the presumption that Eve ate an apple.
The inclusion of the apple lends irony. It lets the reader know that maybe the speaker’s story isn’t so true either. As Genesis 3:6 reads, Eve “took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (“Genesis 3:6.” kingjamesbibleonline.org.)
How the Serpent and God Represent Tension
God’s “querulous” (Line 12). The serpent’s consumption of Eve—and, via Eve, Adam and the apple—puts God in a bad mood. The serpent is relaxed and in a good place. He “[s]leeps his meal off in Paradise” (Line 10). The relationship between God and the serpent represents the strain between good and evil or God and the Devil. As the serpent occupies the Garden of Eden, it looks like he’s won.
God, although sidelined, is not without power. God still has the authority to address the serpent and to make him listen. The serpent can’t ignore God; God can still influence him.
As in the Bible, God and the Devil/serpent have a contentious relationship. In the Book of Job, God lets the Devil bring calamities on Job to test his faith. Though not quite the case in “Theology,” there is a detectable interdependence. Part of the serpent’s happiness requires the presence of God. If God isn’t “calling” (Line 12), the serpent has nothing to smile over. And if the serpent doesn’t consume Eve and Adam, God has nothing to say. In the poem, the serpent/Devil and God depend on their conflicts to create their respective identities.
The Idea of Movement and Rest and Heaven and Hell
Stanza 2 contains propulsive action. First, Adam eats the apple, Eve eats Adam, and the serpent consumes Eve. The image of the “dark intestine” (Line 8) furthers the idea of movement, as the intestine has to do a lot of work to digest food. In a religious context, constant movement often links to hell. In Dante’s epic Italian poem about a visit to hell, “Inferno,” he graphically describes the tortuous motions of the underworld’s inhabitants. They receive no rest or peace, only unpleasant stimulation. Wind and mud, among other things, continuously assault them. (Alighieri, Dante. “The Divine Comedy.” Gutenberg.org.)
Ironically, in “Theology,” the serpent, who represents evil, “[s]leeps” (Line 10). Although he belongs in hell, the serpent is in “Paradise” (Line 10), where he can rest. God, however, can’t. God is left “querulous calling” (Line 12). God’s bad mood brings a smile to the serpent’s face. Through the motif of action and stillness, the poem further subverts popular understandings of Christianity by associating God with turmoil and the Devil/serpent with serenity.
