Mermaids (Symbol)
The mermaids are a symbol of natural wonder. Beautiful and mythic, these creatures create an immediate change in the poem. By incorporating them, Dickinson makes the material overtly fantastical. The mermaids immediately register to the speaker as something that inspires awe and a certain degree of human smallness. They are also a subtle indicator of the change the text will undergo. The mermaids appear to offer an initial welcome, but something more sinister awaits the speaker further into the water. This scenario is not unlike the apocryphal fate of many sailors lured to their deaths by the false sight of mermaids.
Frigates (Symbol)
The frigates symbolize a more commonplace view of the ocean. In contrast to the mermaids mentioned earlier in the poem, the frigates are more grounded in reality and show the speaker seeing the everyday side of life at sea. At the same time, the speaker is still perceived by the frigates, which extend their heavy ropes out to her. This makes it apparent that the speaker's gaze is still being returned and that she is made to feel insignificant in the presence of these ships. If the mermaids are a sort of natural sublime, then the frigates are a technological sublime. Though manmade, the frigates remind the speaker of her small stature.
Masculinity (Motif)
After the second stanza, the poem begins to wrestle with ideas surrounding masculinity and its potential for harm. Dickinson personifies the water that grabs the speaker as male. In doing so she characterizes its malevolent forcefulness, but also underscores the realistic fears of women of the time. Offering a vision of the sea as something powerful and all-consuming, she depicts the real threats women faced both to their bodies and their individuality. The oceanic "man" pulls the speaker deeper and deeper, trying to sink her into the vast depths of the water.
