Death - “A Parting Health”
The title, “A Parting Health” has subtexts of foreseeable death that are buttressed by the opening sentence: “YES, we knew we must lose him,-- though friendship may claim.” Holmes concession surmises that she and J.L Motley’s friends were acquainted with his upcoming demise.
Sea - “A Sea Dialogue”
The Cabin passenger holds that the sea is characteristic of confounding variability for it is a
“ wallowing beast, the Sea, has sucked/
Between his sharp, thin lips, the wedgy waves,/
What heaps of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls;/
What piles of shekels, talents, ducats, crowns,/
What bales of Tyrian mantles, Indian shawls,/
Of laces that have blanked the weavers' eyes,/
Of silken tissues, wrought by worm and man,/
The half-starved workman, and the well-fed worm;/
What marbles, bronzes, pictures, parchments, books;/
What many-lobuled, thought-engendering brains;/
Lie with the gaping sea-shells in his maw,-- “
The sea’s capacity cannot be exhausted; thus, it can house all manner of things outlined in the lines above. The sea is a habitat for matters that are not correlated; thus, it embodies boundless diversity.
Anacreon - “A Sentiment”
Holmes incarnates sentimental friendship: “Warm with the sunshine of Anacreon's soul.” The soul relates to the immortalized masterpieces credited to Anacreon. The vast warmth in the Anacreon’s lyrics is equivalent to the cordiality of friendship.
