# LXVIII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A brief aphoristic statement asserting that beauty is subjective and determined by the heart, using the example of the male rattlesnake finding the female rattlesnake the loveliest thing in nature.

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature and Artifice

The chapter uses a natural example (rattlesnakes) to comment on the subjective nature of beauty, contrasting natural perception with artificial standards.

## Key lines

> The creator and arbiter of beauty is the heart; to the male rattlesnake the female rattlesnake is the loveliest thing in nature.

Beauty is determined by personal feeling; what one finds attractive is entirely subjective, as illustrated by the male rattlesnake's perception of the female.

_This encapsulates the chapter's sole message about subjective beauty._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/lxviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters