Description: The serpent is coiled about the nude figure of Lilith. Its head rests at
her throat and is caressed by her right hand, while her left embraces its lower
coils. Fredeman indicates that the item has “nothing in common with
Lady Lilith
,” but DGR likely intended the present doublework to reflect and
refract the treatment of the Lilith myth found in the earlier
Lady
Lilith/Body's Beauty
pairing.
Copyright: ©Robin Alston
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
The sketch illustrates a key element of DGR's poem Eden Bower : Lilith's erotic relation to the serpent. The phallic character of the imagery scarcely needs to be mentioned.
As part of a double work of art, the picture is uncommon because it was made for the poem; normally DGR wrote his poems to illustrate his pictures.
Production History
The drawing may have been executed at the time DGR wrote the poem; but it might just as well belong to 1863-1864, when (according to Robert Browning) DGR executed a picture on this subject. Whether he had any thought to elaborate the sketch further is unknown.
Literary
The drawing was made as a pictorial companion to DGR's poem Eden Bower .
Bibliography