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The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes


Summary:  The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes is a poem about the nautilus, which is a creature that lives in a shell.  The creature adds on a new, larger chamber, every year for it to live in because of its growth.

Section One:
  • Poets pretend the nautilus sails in magical lands that have sirens and mermaids
Section Two:
  • The nautilus is broken, the shell is cracked and the insides are seen
Section Three:
  • The nautilus worked hard every year to make its shell bigger because it was growing
Section Four:
  • The nautilus is dead, out of the sea and by observing the shell has lead to understanding of it
Section Five:
  • The narrator tells the nautilus to continue to create its shell and grow.
Other Notes:
  • The nautilus is probably dead because of the line "wrecked is the ship of pearl" ; and "living gauze no more unfurl"
  • The narrator says the growing process is difficult and lots of work
  • The narrator has learned the creature builds the shell bigger and bigger to accommodate its growth from looking at the shell

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       © 2009 copyright www.notes4free.com  The Chambered Nautilus | Oliver Wendell Holmes

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