When was this poem written?

The poem was first published in 1857 in an edition of
The Atlantic Monthly. The poem was therefore written at the height
of the American Renaissance where there was a resurgence in the growth of literary,
social, cultural and scientific exploration. The author, Oliver Wendell Holmes, was
described as –

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 A medical doctor, poet, novelist, travel
writer, essayist, philosopher, lecturer and
conversationalist.

This
diversity of interest and pursuit characterized the age and the depth of thought that
was committed to works such as The Chambered Nautilus. The theme of
being released from one's shell exemplifies the ideas of free thought and free spirit
that characterise the great thinkers of the age.