Scève, the Snake and the Herb

Abstract

The thirtieth dizain of Scève's 'Délle', like many poems in the sequence, dwells on the fatal 'regard' of the Beloved and its effect upon the hapless lover. But it is the strange terminal image of the wounded serpent and the mysterious 'Dorion' which crystallizes the central conflict of the dizain. Little discussion has hitherto been centred on the serpent image in this dizain and most critics seem to be baffled by the herb: as Professor I. D. McFarlane has said, "Dorion [is] presumably some plant or herb which cured wounded serpents. A satisfactory identification of this herb in legend has yet to be made" (p. 378). This paper proposes an explanation of the serpent image and an identification of the herb. The poem as a whole will then be considered. But it is necessary to begin by examining the first eight lines which lead up to the final image.