How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea; (5-6)
This is an obscure reference, but its one that would have jumped off the page to any religious readers of ancient Greece. Why do you think it's included in this poem, when every other allusion comes from Christianity?
Quote #2
Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes; (10-11)
A dais is a platform for an altar or a throne. It's clear that the speaker is making preparations to welcome a V.I.P. of biblical proportions (psst…we mean God).
Quote #3
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys; (12-15)
Doves, pomegranates, peacocks, grapes, fleurs-de-lys—all of these are symbols of Christian significance. You may be wondering why Christianity has so many symbols to begin with. Well, in the early days of the religion, it was not so safe to go around proclaiming your faith. Folks like the Romans tended to frown on that sort of behavior—right before they fed you to the lions. Symbolism, then, became a way of invoking the Christian faith as a kind of unspoken code. Why do you think the speaker adopts in here, though, long after Christianity is well-established?