Development and Mobility
In The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, the conversation preceding "The Chambered Nautilus" explores different life stages and the significance of advancing by transcending previous experiences. The poem expands on this theme by highlighting the concept of closing off past confines to create new, larger spaces for living and growth. In the paragraphs leading up to the poem, the autocrat emphasizes, "grow we must, if we outgrow all that we love," underscoring the necessity of continuous development with age, even if it means leaving behind old relationships. Holmes envisions a journey of personal and spiritual growth, where one continually strives to become a better person.
"The Chambered Nautilus" embodies this idea of progress, especially in stanza 3, which describes how the nautilus only inhabits the outermost and largest chamber of its shell, completely leaving behind the chambers it has outgrown. The poet depicts these chambers as sealed, enclosed spaces, calling them a dim "cell" or a "sunless crypt," despite their rainbow ceilings and "lustrous," or glowing, appearance. In stanza 5, the chambers are likened to grand, "stately mansions," while the previous chambers are described as "low-vaulted." This contrast emphasizes the notion that life is in a continual state of change and that it is crucial to close off the past to enhance oneself.
Holmes seems to recognize that entirely cutting old ties can be challenging, as it might be perceived as abandoning friends. This could explain why the speaker notes that the nautilus must quietly "sneak away" to its new home, soon adopting the mindset that it "knew the old no more." If people undergo such a transformation, they might find themselves "forlorn" like the nautilus, becoming children "of the wandering sea." However, because life is an "unresting sea," Holmes also suggests that the journey of spiritual and personal growth, achieved by leaving one's former circumstances, is a necessary and selfless path to self-improvement.
Death and the Afterlife
The construction of the nautilus's shell serves as a compelling metaphor for the speaker's spiritual journey, transforming "The Chambered Nautilus" into an allegory about death and the journey to the afterlife. The idea that the human body is similar to a vessel or shell that contains the spirit is not new, and Holmes clearly suggests that the nautilus's shell represents the physical body, while the living creature inside symbolizes the human soul. From the first stanza, Holmes introduces the concept of dualism—the belief that the immortal soul is separate from the mortal body—by describing the ship with "purpled wings," reminiscent of an angel. In stanza 4, Holmes further implies that the nautilus delivers a "heavenly message," as if it were an eternal spirit offering guidance to the living.
The most explicit discussion of the nautilus as a metaphor for the human spirit occurs in stanza 5. Here, the speaker encourages his "soul" to build increasingly "nobler" temples until it achieves liberation, much like the deceased nautilus whose shell has been broken. Although the chambers of the speaker's soul "shut [him] from heaven," the final dome appears to burst open as he leaves the "outgrown shell" and rises to the afterlife. The nautilus's pursuit of immortality is fraught with peril, facing dangers like deadly sirens, and it is portrayed as a "forlorn" and "frail" creature dedicated to "silent toil." Nevertheless, this challenging journey seems justified, as it results in the creation of the shell's "heavenly message." Similarly, the soul's diligent efforts on earth are seemingly rewarded with the "free[dom]" of heaven.
Occasional Verse and Poetic Quality
Much of the poetry of Oliver Wendell Holmes is occasional verse, and as such it is light, witty, and often humorous (as in poems such as “The Deacon’s...
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Masterpiece,” “My Aunt,” and “The Boys”). It is said that such poetry can make delightful reading but that its poetic quality is seldom high. Holmes himself once remarked that his poetry was “as the beating of a drum or the tinkling of a triangle to the harmony of a band.” “The Chambered Nautilus,” often considered one of his best poems, is not in the vein of his occasional verse and has a more pensive tone than that which generally characterizes his poetry. This poem is not preachy (as is a poem such as “Old Ironsides”), and while its theme is not profound, it is certainly provocative. By observing the nautilus and by essentially “dissecting” its physical body, the poet discovers a profound spiritual truth. To him the “silent toil” of the nautilus as it struggles to achieve physical growth is symbolic of the human endeavor necessary to the growth of the soul.
Growth and Nourishment of the Soul
That individuals should continually be engaged in building broader and more comprehensive lives, growing with age and experience, and that they should be continually concerned with the nourishment of the soul throughout their lifetimes, is the message the poet derives from his experience with the nautilus. Such a conclusion is not only a consequence of a different kind of seeing but also a result of the religious background of the poet, who was born the son of a Calvinist minister. Also, his meticulous “dissecting” of the animal in the earlier stanzas of the poem may well be attributable to Holmes’s formal training in anatomy and the many years that he spent as professor of anatomy at Dartmouth and at Harvard Universities.
Biblical Allusions and Spiritual Growth
In developing his theme in the final stanza of the poem, then, it is understandable that the poet makes generous use of biblical allusions. His insistence, for example, that the soul build “stately” or magnificent “mansions” seems to be an allusion to the “mansions” of matchless beauty which, according to the Bible, have been prepared in heaven for the souls of the righteous. He further insists that these “temples” of the soul be “new” and noble, or, as Scripture contends, that the soul should be clean and “undefiled.” Finally, the poet alludes to the body as a shell which is discarded after death; in the same manner as the shell of the nautilus, it is cast from the “lap” of the “unresting sea.” Implicit in this statement is the notion that only the soul is eternal. Thus, individuals must strive throughout their lifetimes to nourish and develop that which lasts—the soul. Just as the nautilus continues to grow during its lifetime, ever expanding and creating new and “lustrous coils,” so should human beings continue growing spiritually throughout their lives, ever moving toward a higher plane of existence, leaving behind all small thoughts, acts, and desires, ever striving to build “new temples”—each one perfect, each one “nobler than the last.”
