The house
The main symbol in the poem "Under the Mountain…’’ is the house described by the narrator. The house is described from a distance and portrayed as being extremely affected by the weather, run down and abandoned. The house becomes here a symbol for the way a human body degrades as time passes. Just as the house became extremely affected in time by rain and wind, a human body changes drastically as time goes by, affected by aging and disease.
Symbol for happiness
At the end of the sonnet “Thin little leaves of wood fern, ribbed and toothed”, the narrator described the things which made him happy as a child, namely spending time in nature with his friends, looking for butterflies and grasshoppers. The narrator describes how he would use to spend hours looking for ‘’the last red butterfly’’ among flowers and how everyone wanted to find it. The butterfly is used here as a symbol for the elements which brought the narrator joy as a child and which continued to bring him joy as an adult.
Nature as holding all the answers
In almost every poem, the narrator mentions nature as being the place where he found happiness and the answer to the most burning questions he had. In the poem "Under the Mountain…’’ nature allows the narrator to find happiness by meditating while in the sonnet "Roll on, sad world! not Mercury or Mars’’ it gives him hope about the future. Because of this, the theme of nature becomes a common motif in the poems written by the author, being a common element in every poem.
White skin as a symbol for wealth
In the sonnet entitled "Gertrude and Gulielma, sister-twins,’’ the narrator talks about the moment he saw the two sisters and describes them as being beautiful women who possess both beauty and grace. The first characteristic he mentions about them is the whiteness of their skin, very important for the narrator. The white skin becomes used here as a symbol, suggesting the noble nature of the two girls. Thus, the white skin also becomes a symbol associated with wealth and power.
The cloud as symbol for peace of mind
In the sonnet "Once on a day, alone but not elate,’’ the narrator describes the process through which he tried to find peace of mind and happiness. After trying for a long period of time, he finally succeeded he feels free and light as a cloud, floating above everyone on earth. The cloud is pure and undisturbed by what is taking place down on earth and so it becomes used as a symbol for peace of mind freedom of the soul.
