Whitman uses repetition to create a feeling of monotony as the spider "launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself, / Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them." The image of the “vacant vast surrounding” hints at the speaker’s possible doubts about the meaning of life. "A Noiseless Patient Spider" is a short poem by Walt Whitman, published in an 1891 edition of Leaves of Grass.

It was originally part of his poem "Whispers of Heavenly Death", written expressly for The Broadway, A London Magazine, issue 10 (October 1868), numbered as stanza "3". When asked to explain how the literary style of... Walt Whitman: Transcendental and Realist Poet, Through the Looking Glass: Summary, Characters & Author, Emily Dickinson: Poems and Poetry Analysis, The Wreck of the Deutschland: Summary & Analysis, The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson: Summary & Analysis, The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe: Summary, Characters & Analysis, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman: Summary, Themes & Analysis, Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads: Summary & Analysis, Transcendentalism: Impact on American Literature, D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow: Summary & Concept, Introduction to T.S. The image of the spider on this piece of land cast out from the rest, ostracized from any relations, creates a strong sense of solitude. A promontory is a piece of land that sticks out like a cliff from the rest of the earth. Conclusion "A Noiseless Patient Spider" by: Walt Whitman Analyzed by Emily Garvey Apostrophe Diction The speaker addresses his or her soul as a separate being from his or her self which is an example of an apostrophe "And you, O my soul where you stand" (6). The image of the spider is continued with its web spinning, trying to explore its surroundings. A Noiseless Patient Spider is famous for its themes of isolation and struggle. This continual exploration shows that the spider is determined in search of something and won’t stop until he finds it. A NOISELESS, patient spider, I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated; Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding, It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of … Services, Walt Whitman's Poetry and Transcendentalism, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. Imagining the spider on a promontory, "isolated" and surrounded by a "vacant vast" creates a feeling of loneliness. All rights reserved. He leaps forward, just as the spider launches “filament, filament, filament, out of itself.” When a spider ejects its web, it attaches on to a surface, allowing it to retreat back to its original position. The poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider" by Walt Whitman portrays the image of a spider on a promontory as a metaphor for his lonely self. The image of the motionless spider as painted in the first three lines of the poem, completely alone and isolated, introduces the idea that the speaker feels alone in the world. It leaves a mark on its vast surroundings by weaving its web. Again, this monotony and repetition shows the loneliness of the spider. Just like Whitman’s soul, he is isolated atop this rock structure, wondering how he is going to attack the world. The poem unfolds the story of a lonely spider, which the poet examines so carefully. Both the speaker and the spider seem incapable of finding meaning in the universe. Summary of A Noiseless Patient Spider. A Noiseless Patient Spider (From Leaves of Grass, 1900 ed.) I definitely agree with Yasin in how Whitman compares his soul and the spider and how they are both lost, but searching. The word theme comes from the Greek word, thema, which means a proposition. The parallel image found on line eight and nine, “surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them”, is establishes a connection between the spider's condition and the speaker's. The poem's most prevalent literary technique is imagery; it is difficult to find even one line that does not contain a vivid image. [1] It was retitled "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and reprinted as part of a larger cluster in Passage to India (1871).[2]. The theme of Walt Whitman's poem, ''A Noiseless Patient Spider,'' is loneliness. When was the poem O Captain! A theme is an underlying idea or concept in a literary work; it can also be referred to as a topic or subject. "A Noiseless Patient Spider" is a short poem by Walt Whitman, published in an 1891 edition of Leaves of Grass. What is the theme of "'A Noiseless Patient Spider'"? By Walt Whitman", Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site, Musical setting of "A Noiseless Patient Spider" by Deborah Mason, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Noiseless_Patient_Spider&oldid=979620578, Articles that may contain original research from November 2014, All articles that may contain original research, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 September 2020, at 19:42.
The first, and one of the more important, examples occurs in the first line: “A noiseless patient spider.” This visual image brings pictures of a small, perfectly still spider sitting in its web. The poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider" by Walt Whitman portrays the image of a spider on a promontory as a metaphor for his lonely self. If the spider is the speaker’s soul, then the surroundings should be the rest of the universe, and if the rest of the universe is empty with nothing for the filaments to connect to, then what is the purpose of “tirelessly speeding them” on? Walt Whitman’s “A Noiseless Patient Spider” has an extended metaphor with himself and a spider. In the piece, Whitman focuses on a spider's quest to attach itself to... Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. A promontory is a piece of land that sticks out like a cliff from the rest of the earth. Become a Study.com member to unlock this Eliot: Author Background, Works, and Style, The Waste Land: Structure and Style Explained, Characteristics of Romanticism in American Literature, The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill: Summary & Analysis, Puritan Literature: Characteristics & Authors, The Faerie Queene: Summary, Analysis & Characters, MEGA Middle School Education - Language Arts: Practice & Study Guide, Teaching Young Adult Books & High School Literature, Common Core ELA Grade 8 - Writing: Standards, Common Core ELA Grade 7 - Literature: Standards, FSA - Grades 9-10 ELA: Test Prep & Practice, Common Core ELA Grade 8 - Language: Standards, Common Core ELA - Language Grades 11-12: Standards, Biological and Biomedical This spider is standing on a promontory- a protruding rock formation that faces the sea. A noiseless patient spider quizlet keyword after analyzing the system lists the list of keywords related and the list of websites with related content, in addition you can see which keywords most interested customers on the this website answer! It was retitled "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and reprinted as part of a larger cluster in Passage to India (1871). The repetition in words makes the action of spinning the web a repetitive and monotonous task. Summary: In this poem, the speaker observes a noiseless, patient spider on a promontory (a rock outcropping over the ocean).
As Yasin said, this poem is a metaphor for his lonely self, “cast out from the rest, ostracized from any relations, creating a strong sense of solitude.”. The theme of Walt Whitman's poem, ''A Noiseless Patient Spider,'' is loneliness. It was originally part of his poem "Whispers of Heavenly Death", written expressly for The Broadway, A London Magazine, issue 10 (October 1868), numbered as stanza "3". What is the theme of Whitman's 'I Hear America... What is the meter of O Captain! This spider is pondering how to explore its surroundings, realizing how vast and empty it is. Or a spider can “tirelessly speed them” and continue to spew out his web until he lands on something. It could be that the speaker is unable to come to terms with the idea that there could be nothing else in the universe, “the vacant vast surrounding,” besides himself, and is either too optimistic or too incapable of that horrible realization to stop searching for meaning, in the same way that the spider “launches forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself.” The last two lines of the poem can either be interpreted as supporting the idea that the speaker is habitually optimistic or as undermining the idea that the speaker is alone in the universe: “till the bridge you will need be formed, till the ductile anchor hold,/ till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, o my soul.”, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Whispers of Heavenly Death. Literary Device and Meaning in Walt Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider" Imagining the spider on a promontory, "isolated" and surrounded by a "vacant vast" creates a feeling of loneliness. However they both keep trying, either out of hope or blindness.