# The Disciple explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Oscar Wilde.

## What happens

After Narcissus dies, the pool of his pleasure turns from sweet waters to salt tears. The Oreads come to comfort the pool, assuming it mourns Narcissus's beauty, but the pool reveals that it loved Narcissus because in his eyes it saw its own beauty reflected.

## Themes in this chapter

### Beauty and Aesthetics

The Oreads praise Narcissus's beauty, and the pool's love is rooted in the reflection of its own beauty in his eyes.

### Love and Loss

The pool mourns Narcissus's death, but its love is revealed to be self-reflective, blending loss with narcissism.

## Character check-ins

### Narcissus

His death is the catalyst for the pool's transformation and the Oreads' lament.

### Oreads

They come weeping through the woodland to comfort the pool, loosening their hair and singing.

## Key lines

> When Narcissus died the pool of his pleasure changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears

Upon Narcissus's death, the pool that once brought him joy became bitter and sorrowful.

_The pool's transformation symbolizes grief and loss._

> But I loved Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored.

The pool loved Narcissus only because his eyes reflected the pool's own beauty back at itself.

_The pool's love is revealed to be self-centered, echoing the theme of narcissism._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters/the-disciple
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_18_se/chapters