Summary
Stanza 1
The title "The Chambered Nautilus" refers to a sea creature found in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, known for its hard external shell, or exoskeleton. This creature resides in and can retreat into the outermost chamber of its shell, which is composed of sealed sections. The shell is one of nature's finest examples of a logarithmic spiral, growing at an exponential rate and appearing to expand as it develops. In line 1, the nautilus is referred to as a "ship of pearl," blending a comparison to a man-made sailing vessel with a description of the nautilus's pearly shell. The speaker then observes that "poets feign," or pretend, that the nautilus "Sails the unshadowed main," meaning it navigates the open waters.
Lines 3, 4, and 5 extend the metaphor of the nautilus as a ship, painting a picture of a daring wooden vessel whose "purpled wings," or sails, catch the "sweet summer wind." This description evokes a sense of a magical fairyland, with the speaker noting that this ship, or nautilus, sails to enchanted "gulfs." A gulf is a large, partially enclosed body of water, and the term gulf also has a secondary meaning of "chasm" or "abyss." The speaker mentions that "the siren sings" in these gulfs, alluding to the captivating and treacherous water nymphs of ancient Greek mythology who lured sailors to their doom with their enchanting songs. Lines 6 and 7 continue this imagery by describing coral reefs that "lie bare." This refers to the beautiful yet perilous reefs that can wreck a ship, and it subtly hints at the nude "cold sea-maids" who bask in the sun, drying their "streaming hair."
Stanza 2
Stanza 2 reflects on the nautilus's destruction and death in the past tense. In line 8, the extended metaphor continues, describing the nautilus as having "webs of living gauze," or sails. It is crucial to discern which parts of the nautilus correspond to the sails and which part represents the "ship of pearl." Logic suggests that the sails, or "purpled wings" and "webs of living gauze," are the creature's tentacles and head, while the pearly ship is the shell. In this stanza, however, the sails do not "unfurl," because the ship is "Wrecked," indicating that the nautilus is likely dead.
In lines 10 through 14, the speaker illustrates the nautilus's vacant shell, continuing to liken it to a ship. The speaker mentions "every chambered cell," drawing a parallel between the ship's compartments and the nautilus's segmented exoskeleton, which it constructs as it grows, sealing off old chambers and moving into new ones. These deserted cells are depicted as former habitats of the nautilus's "dim dreaming life." In line 12, the nautilus is described as a "frail tenant" building "his growing shell." Line 13 addresses the reader as "thee," implying that the empty shell is right before the reader. Line 14 portrays the interior of the empty shell as having an "irised," or rainbow-colored, ceiling that has broken open, exposing what was once a "sunless crypt" to the elements.
Stanza 3
Stanza 3 shifts from the previous depiction of the nautilus's demise to recount its lifelong "silent toil" of constructing protective compartments within its spiral shell. In this narrative, the speaker seems to move away from comparing the nautilus to a ship, although Holmes's language still employs terms related to human construction, such as "coil," "archway," "door," and "home."
Lines 15 and 16 highlight the repetitive labor involved in creating the "lustrous" shell. The subsequent lines explain that each year, the nautilus abandons its former chamber for a newly built one to...
(This entire section contains 1131 words.)
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accommodate its growing size. Line 19 characterizes this transition as sneaking "with soft step" through the "shining archway" separating the chambers, as if the nautilus were human. This personification—attributing human traits to an animal or object—continues in lines 20 and 21. The speaker describes the seal the nautilus forms to close off its old chamber as an "idle door" (where "idle" likely means "unused" rather than "useless" or "unproductive"). In line 21, the speaker overtly likens the nautilus to a person, describing it as "Stretched in his last-found home" and noting that it "knew the old no more," effectively leaving its past behind.
Stanza 4
In stanza 4, which shifts to the present tense, the speaker directly addresses the nautilus and reflects on its impact on him. Line 22 expresses gratitude to the nautilus for the "heavenly message" it has conveyed, while line 23 refers to the creature as a "Child of the wandering sea," an enigmatic image since it is hard to imagine the sea itself as wandering. Line 24 suggests that the nautilus is adrift or "forlorn," as if it has been cast out from the sea's embrace, likening the sea to its mother.
In line 25, the speaker informs the reader that the nautilus is deceased, yet he conjures an image of a "note" emanating from its "dead lips." The subsequent line expands on this notion, indicating that the note from the nautilus is clearer than the one "Triton" blows from his "wreathèd horn." Triton, an ancient Greek demigod—more powerful than a human but less so than a god—is the son of Poseidon, the sea god. Triton is typically depicted as a merman, possessing the upper body of a man and the tail of a fish. Over time, the name "Triton" came to represent various mythological mermen and mermaids. The "wreathèd horn" refers to Triton's large conch shell, which he uses like a trumpet to command the waves. In line 27, the speaker mentions hearing the clear note of the nautilus resonate in his ear. In line 28, he describes the nautilus's sound as a "voice that sings" in "deep caves of thought," linking this imagery to the nautilus's intricate chambers.
Stanza 5
In the fifth stanza, the speaker turns the focus inward, addressing himself rather than the nautilus. In line 29, he urges his "soul" to "Build thee more stately mansions," drawing a parallel between the nautilus's chamber-building and the construction of grand houses. Line 30 exhorts the speaker to build these mansions swiftly as time passes quickly. In line 31, he advises himself to leave the "low-vaulted," or low-ceilinged, "past," and in the following line, he wishes for "each new temple," a significant metaphor suggesting the sacredness of the chamber or house, to be "nobler than the last."
Line 33 features the phrase "Shut thee from heaven," highlighting the separation of the house or temple from the elements and from God. Paradoxically, the speaker describes the ceiling as "a dome more vast" that expands until he is "free." Line 34 implies that the speaker attains ultimate freedom by releasing himself into heaven, or dying. The final line reinforces this interpretation, likening the speaker to the nautilus as he leaves his "outgrown shell," which symbolizes both his body and a house, "by life's unresting sea," suggesting that the speaker's spirit will ascend from his body and into heaven.
