Poetry · Chapter
LXVIII explained
A brief aphoristic statement asserting that beauty is subjective and determined by the heart, using the example of the male rattlesnake finding the female rattlesnake the loveliest thing in nature.
What happens
A brief aphoristic statement asserting that beauty is subjective and determined by the heart, using the example of the male rattlesnake finding the female rattlesnake the loveliest thing in nature.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the speaker’s obsessive pursuit of the divine rose fragrance…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Nature and Artifice
The chapter uses a natural example (rattlesnakes) to comment on the subjective nature of beauty, contrasting natural perception with artificial standards.
Key passages
“The creator and arbiter of beauty is the heart; to the male rattlesnake the female rattlesnake is the loveliest thing in nature.”
Beauty is determined by personal feeling; what one finds attractive is entirely subjective, as illustrated by the male rattlesnake's perception of the female.
This encapsulates the chapter's sole message about subjective beauty.
