Making Inferences and Finding Meter:
“The Chambered Nautilus”
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
MS. MACEMORE
UNIT TWO: AMERICAN ROMANTICISM
Imaginary Scene:
Sarah left a Payless Shoes bag on the floor and is
wearing shiny red heels. What conclusions can we
make based upon what we see here?
To determine what is happening here, we just made
inferences.
What is an Inference?
An inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of
evidence and reasoning.
Where do we use inferences?
 Reading
 Real world applications such as:
 Crime scene investigations
 Court cases
 Problem solving
 Making plans
“The Chambered Nautilus”
 We’re going to read a poem called “The Chambered
Nautilus,” by Oliver Wendell Holmes.
 While reading, we will be ‘detectives’ and make
inferences about what we read.
 First, let’s make some inferences based upon the title
of this story.
“The Chambered Nautilus”
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/invertebrates/facts
/cephalopods/factsheets/chamberednautilus.cfm
Clues:
 The chambered nautilus is continually growing,
adding more and more shell as it does, moving into a
different chamber each time the shell grows.
 The shell of a chambered nautilus is a perfect spiral
coated in mother-of-pearl.
 When threatened, it withdraws into its shell and
closes a tough, leathery hood to keep predators out.
What might these clues tell us?
 The chambered nautilus is continually growing,
adding more and more shell as it does, moving into a
different chamber each time the shell grows.

This could represent something about change and growth.
 The shell of a chambered nautilus is a perfect spiral
coated in mother-of-pearl.

This could represent beauty and perfection that takes time to achieve.
 When threatened, it withdraws into its shell and
closes a tough, leathery hood to keep predators out.

This could represent being tough against all odds and continuing to grow and change.
Make an Inference!
 Based on the clues and interpretations before,
answer the following questions:



1. Do you think this is literally about a sea creature?
2. What else could this be about?
3. What clues help you make this inference?
Inferences from “The Chambered Nautilus”
Details from Text
What I Know from
Experience
“Year after year beheld Toil is work; It takes a lot of
the silent toil / that
practice and hard work to
spread his lustrous coil” become good at a sport.
“Still, as the spiral
grew,/He left the past
year’s dwelling for the
new”
Ideas Inferred
Change requires effort.
Time passes quicker than we
Change is hard and
think; we leave old things
requires you to face new
behind and go toward new
things.
ones; in my life, I have left
behind many things in order to
grow as a person.
What is rhythm?????
Rhythm is the pattern of stresses in a line of verse.
When you speak, you stress some syllables and leave
others unstressed. When you string a lot of words
together, you start seeing patterns. Rhythm is a
natural thing. It's in everything you say and write, even
if you don't intend for it to be.
What is meter?
 Meters are premeasured patterns of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
 Meter is composed of individual units of rhythm, called
feet. These are four types of feet:




Anapest: duh-duh-DUH, as in but of course!
Dactyl: DUH-duh-duh, as in honestly
Iamb: duh-DUH, as in collapse
Trochee: DUH-duh, as in pizza
Interesting fact: The Queen song “We Will Rock You” has a
rhythm that is anapestic—two unstressed beats followed by
a stressed one. 
Meter
Lines are then composed of a certain number of feet,
as follows:
 1 foot: monometer
 2 feet: dimeter
 3 feet: trimeter
 4 feet: tetrameter
 5 feet: pentameter
 6 feet: hexameter
How do we name it?
 The meter of poetry is named by combining the type
of foot it uses, and the number of feet per line.
 Example: If I use trochees, and have four feet per
line, I am writing in trochaic tetrameter.
 The most popular form of meter is called “iambic
pentameter.”
 William Shakespeare was a HUGE fan of this one.
Example of Iambic Pentameter
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?”
- Dr. Faustus
Do you hear the iambs? (unstressed syllable followed
by a stressed syllable)