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Unit 2: Collection 4

Study Guide READING AND LITERATURE

The Chambered Nautilus Oliver Wendell Holmes

COMPREHENSION

1. In the first stanza, to what does Holmes compare the chambered nautilus?

2. In the lines “In gulfs enchanted, where the siren sings, / And coral reefs lie bare,” what is the poet implying about the sea?

3. What are the lines “Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; / Wrecked is the ship of pearl!” are a meditation upon?

4. To what does Holmes compare the new chambers that the nautilus has built?

5. In the lines “From thy dead lips a clearer note is born / Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!” what does Holmes assume about his audience?

6. In the lines “Leave thy low-vaulted past! / Let each new temple, nobler than the last, / Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,” what does Holmes most likely mean?

7. What is Holmes’s overall message in the last stanza?

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Match the definition on the left with the vocabulary word on the right. On the line provided, write the letter of the correct vocabulary word.

_______ 8. to spread out or unfold

_______ 9. deserted; miserable; hopeless

_______ 10. bold, daring, adventurous

_______ 11. an underground burial chamber

_______ 12. shining; glossy

A) venturous

B) unfurl

C) crypt

D) lustrous

E) forlorn

LITERARY FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.

13. Identify metaphors used to describe the chambered nautilus.

14. In the lines “From thy dead lips a clearer note is born / Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!”, what device does Holmes use?

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15. In the fourth stanza the line “Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,” begins an apostrophe addressing what?

READING FOCUS

16. In the first stanza, what is the chambered nautilus described as?

17. Discuss Holmes’s observation of the chambered nautilus?

18. What happens when the nautilus outgrows its chambers?

CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (18 points)

19. On a sheet of paper, explain how Holmes compares the life cycle of a chambered nautilus to a message about living a productive life. Include the two characters from Greek mythology in the poem on how they helped to spread his message.

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.

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