How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she. (1-3)
Isolation is immediately felt when we think of that lonely sea that's far from human vanity. And yet, all of our Pride of Life still ends up there no matter how hard we might fight to make it otherwise. So the speaker might be suggesting that it's time we think about who we are without those things.
Quote #2
Steel chambers, late the pyres
Of her salamandrine fires,
Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres. (4-6)
Those cold currents add to the poem's feeling of isolation as they turn everything into the sea. It's just us and those currents. And since those fires can't work down there, we're left feeling even colder and more isolated. So there's lots of imagery going on here that engages all of our five senses.
Quote #3
Jewels in joy designed
To ravish the sensuous mind
Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind. (10-12)
Making things even more isolated is the fact that there's no light down at the bottom of the sea. So forget about those jewels catching the sun's rays. Here, without any light, the only thing we really have is who we are and maybe the light we carry inside. Everything else that might sparkle on land is bleared and black and blind down here.