The two poems I will be comparing and making sense of are The Chambered Nautilus and Flower-de-Luce. Both poems are very well known, but for different reasons I believe. The first poem, The Chambered Nautilus by Oliver Wendell Holmes is about life and the growing in life. In line 17 and 18"Still, as the spiral grew,; He left the past year’s dwelling for the new," ("801. The Chambered Nautilus..)This displays how the poem talks about life and moving forward. It says how the "spiral grew" meaning the thing is growing. Metaphorically it is meaning us as humans are growing physically, emotionally, and intelligently. This growth means to move forward in life and leave the past behind. Like the poem above said "He left the past year's dwelling for a new", meaning leaving the past as the past and moving on to new things. Randell Huff writes in his criticism "The moral is to keep growing spiritually (the soul's building of ever more stately mansions, line 29), leaving the "low-vaulted past" (line 31) for ever loftier temples until finally free from the outgrown shell (the physical body after death) by "life's unresting sea" (line 35).",(Huff) showing that he also believes that leaving the past behind and moving forward is the general meaning of the story.
On the other hand the poem Flower-de-Luce is about the opposite. It is about mourning and living in the past of those who are dead and have left their earthly form. In line 13 and 14 "For the one face I looked for was not there,; The one low voice was mute;" (Longfellow) This is talking about how the author or reader is looking for someone who is not there because they have passed on. They are trying to hear their voice but it isn't there because they have passed. The metaphorical meaning of the whole poem is those that are dead are gone for good and will not be able to pass on their knowledge or ideas anymore. An article on Facts on File revealed this about Longfellow, "Tragedy struck again on July 9, 1861, when Fanny and two of their daughters died in a house fire. While melting wax to seal envelopes containing cuttings of her children's hair, Fanny dropped a match onto her dress. Fanny was only 44 years old; their two youngest daughters were five and seven. Longfellow had tried to rescue Fanny by smothering the flames with a rug. As a result, he received terrible burns on his hands and face, and, since shaving became difficult due to scars from the fire, Longfellow grew a beard. Deeply depressed, he immersed himself in translating Dante into English and returned to Europe." (Oakes) This being in 1861 and the work of Flower-de-Luce being written short years after could also be a reason why poem is so sad and stuck in death. Although the poem is about the great author, Hawthorne, and his death, I believe there is also an underlying feelings of his family.
These poems are alike because they both relate to the emotions of a person. Although the emotions are on total opposite sides of one another, they are still displayed. Also a great deal of nature and description is involved which a key part to something is being a Romanticism piece of work.
Huff, Randall. "'The Chambered Nautilus'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0070&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 12, 2011).
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. The Complete Poetical Works, ed. by Horace E. Scudder. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1893; Bartleby.com, 2011. www.bartleby.com/356/[224]Web. 12 Dec.
Oakes, Elizabeth H. "Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth." American Writers, American Biographies. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= AW144&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 12, 2011).
"801. The Chambered Nautilus. Oliver Wendell Holmes. 1909-14. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. The Harvard Classics." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 12 Dec.
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