B
mypoint is if there was a literal talking snake bak then, why arent there literal talking snakes today? also, how could it have been taken as allegorial by so many people(probly the majority) before the real age of earth and evolution were discovered if, as you say,its obviously literal?
Even now... People have heard animals literally speak to them. Others may think they've gone bonkers, but it happens.
The Bible says that anything God created has a spirit, but it doesn't say that it will always have a good spirit. The devil can possess just about anything!
I'm a first hand witness of what the devil can possess, and it's a scary topic.
But back to the point I was trying to make...
If the devil possessed the snake, yes, the snake could talk. And if the devil chose to possess a snake again, then a snake today could talk too.