The Cover of a Book
In the later stanzas of the poem, the narrator likens a woman to a book: the exterior she presents to the world is like the cover art on the outside of a book. Only those to whom she allows the privilege of thumbing through her pages can truly understand her. The book is therefore a symbol for the many-layered character of a woman.
America
In the middle stanza, the narrator uses America as a symbol for everything free, unexplored, and ready to be claimed. He calls his mistress his "America," his "new-found-land," simultaneously praising her beauty and implying that she is a piece of land to be possessed.
Gems
The narrator compares gemstones women use to adorn themselves to "Atalanta's balls," which is a reference to a Greek myth. In the story, Atalanta was a beautiful maiden who would not allow any man to court her who could not beat her in a footrace. No man could do it until one cunning man dropped apples along the racecourse, which Atalanta stopped and picked up, allowing him to beat her. Gemstones, the narrator argues, are bait to draw simple men's attention away from the woman's body and onto her material possessions, ensuring that he does not become too enthralled with her form.
The Narrator's Hands
The narrator's hands come to be symbolically representative of the rest of him; when he asks his mistress to "license his roving hands," allowing them to move anywhere he desires, he is really asking about more than just his hands. The state of license of his hands, though, reflects permission to do everything else.
The Midwife
The narrator uses the midwife as a symbolic example of how his mistress should behave with regard to her modesty: she should be no more embarrassed to show her body to him than she would be to a midwife. Thus the midwife, who is usually seen as a symbol of domesticity, becomes a symbol for the absence of sexual inhibitions.
