Apple Tragedy
So on the seventh day The serpent rested, God came up to him. "I've invented a new game," he said. The serpent stared in surprise At this interloper. But God said: "You see this apple?" I squeeze it and look-cider." The serpent had a good drink And curled up into a question mark. Adam drank and said: "Be my god." Eve drank and opened her legs And called to the cockeyed serpent And gave him a wild time. God ran and told Adam Who in drunken rage tried to hang himself in the orchard. The serpent tried to explain, crying "Stop" But drink was splitting his syllable. And Eve started screeching: "Rape! Rape!" And stamping on his head. Now whenever the snake appears she screeches "Here it comes again! Help! O Help!" Then Adam smashes a chair on his head, And God says: "I am well pleased" And everything goes to hell.
Apple Tragedy - meaning Summary
A Drunken Fall Retold
The poem retells the biblical Garden of Eden story as a dark comic disaster caused by alcohol. God introduces cider, and intoxication quickly turns desire, fear, violence, and blame into chaos. Adam, Eve, and the serpent lose their familiar roles: the serpent becomes a victim, while God watches approvingly. Hughes uses this irreverent version of the Fall to suggest that human conflict can grow from drunkenness, sexual jealousy, and scapegoating.
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