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Brett Westwood explores the role snakes play in religion, art and literature. Love them or hate them they have shaped our society from earliest times.

In much of the Christian West snakes don't get a good press, they are considered sly, even evil creatures that tempted Eve causing the downfall for all humanity - quite a burden to bear. The Bible is full of less than flattering references to snakes. Many people fear snakes and kill them on sight. Yet the image of a snake wrapped around a stick is the symbol of medicine. Our complex relationship with snakes means they are amongst the most persecuted creatures on earth. There is no denying that people have in inbuilt fear of snakes as psychological experiments show. DH Lawrence's poem The Snake encapsulates our contradictory relationship with serpents. He is mesmerised by the majesty of the snake, and honoured that it chose to be near him. After scaring the snake away he regrets his mean and petty action: "I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education." Snakes are wound intricately throughout our beliefs, art and literature.

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28 minutes

Last on

Mon 24 Aug 2015 21:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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Clips

See all clips from Snakes (3)

Dr Ronald Jenner

Dr Ronald Jenner
Dr Ronald Jenner is Head of the Invertebrates Division at theΒ ,London. He specialises in the study of the evolution of animal venoms and his work has been published in over 70 publications.

In addition to being a Research Leader at the Museum, he is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at University College London. He has a PhD in systematic biology from the University of Amsterdam and a Masters in experimental zoology from Utrecht University.

Catherine Howell

Catherine Howell
Catherine Howell is Curator of Toys and Games at the . Her main research interests are games, optical toys and soft toys and she has contributed her expertise to a number of exhibitions and publications.

She has played a key role in many of the Museum’s major exhibitions including Alice: The Wonderland of Lewis Carroll (1998). She was the curator of the hugely successful touring exhibitions Teddy Bear Story: 100 years of the teddy bear (2002) and Magic Worlds (2011).

Catherine Howell has worked at the Museum of Childhood since 1991 and is the collections specialist on the history of childhood toys and games.

Richard Kerridge

Richard Kerridge
Richard Kerridge is a nature writer. , a memoir of his childhood fascination with the British reptiles and amphibians, was published in 2014 and has just appeared in paperback.

The book is about natural history, friendship, family, frogs, toads, newts, snakes, lizards, and the joys and anxieties of growing up. Richard has also published books and articles about nature writing and other kinds of wild literature. He teaches creative writing, including nature writing, at Bath Spa University, and was a founder of the UK branch of the .

Nigel Marven

Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven is a naturalist and wildlife television presenter and producer. He began producing programmes at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, including primetime programmes such as Incredible Journeys and Life of Birds, and then Granada Television, where he first found a role behind the camera.

Nigel now runs his own production company, Image Impact, and makes films for audiences all over the world.

Professor Gordon Orians

Professor Gordon Orians
Gordon Orians is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Washington, Seattle and author ofΒ .

Among other areas, his research has focussed on behavioral ecology, such as habitat selection, mate selection and mating systems, selection of prey and foraging patches (foraging theory), and relationships between ecology and social organisation.

Dr Mark Porter

Dr Mark Porter
Dr Mark Porter is the elected British Medical Association council chair and a consultant anaesthetist at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust.

His special interest is in obstetric anaesthesia and the continual development of maternity services to improve the mother's experience.Β 

In the past he has been a clinical director of his department, and the chair of the medical staff local negotiating committee.

Dr Deepak Shimkhada

Dr Deepak Shimkhada
Dr Deepak Shimkhada has taught courses in Asian religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism at Claremont McKenna College and atΒ the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, the University of the West, and California State University-Northridge.

As art historian, Shimkhada happily marries two disciplines. He is the author of many art historical articles published in journals such as , , , and .

Megan Yapp

Megan Yapp
Aged just 12, Megan Yapp took on Natural Histories presenter Brett Westwood in a game of snakes and ladders.

While Brett landed on 'avarice' and his greed for material wealth sent him backwards on the board down the scales of a snake, Megan navigated the ladders and rolled a seven to find herself sitting in seventh heaven at the top of the board.

Broadcasts

  • Tue 18 Aug 2015 11:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
  • Mon 24 Aug 2015 21:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

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