“A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman

“A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman

“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 itself, Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them. 5

And you O my soul where you stand,

Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,

Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.”

Analysis by Bridget Durham

In “[a] noiseless patient spider” (1) by Walt Whitman, the speaker contrasts the strong work ethic and with that of his own soul with his use of alliteration and imagery. The poem begins with speaker stating that “[i] mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated.” (2) By stating this the speaker is setting the scene of the spider’s tale as one of sorrow and making note of the relationship between them and the spider; the spider is being observed while the speaker is the observer. The spider “stood isolated” (2) and “mark’d…the vacant vast surrounding.” (3) As the spider stands isolated it “launch’d forth filament, filament, filament,”

(4) because weaving a web is its only purpose in life, “tirelessly speeding them.” (5) Whitman also utilizes the rule of three with the use of “filament, filament, filament” (4) to create an allusion to the pattern at which a spider weaves its web. With the use of “tirelessly speeding them,” (5) the speaker conveys a sense of exhaustion through the spider’s work. The speaker then shifts his use of pronouns from “I” (2) to “you” (6) to create a perception of detachment from his soul; the speaker is aware of the spider and its tendencies, but their soul remains a mystery. The speaker begins to realize the similarities between them and the spider, “detached, in measureless oceans of space.” (7)

In these “measureless oceans of space” (7) the speaker comes to understand that his soul and the spider are both minute in the great scheme of the universe, they are constantly grasping for “[a] ductile anchor to hold;” both, “ceaselessly musing… seeking the spheres to connect them.” (9) The “spheres” (8) that the soul is seeking to connect is genuine human relation while the spider is seeking to make his web. The connection Whitman is grasping at is how the human soul requires connection to sustain itself just as a spider needs a web to sustain its life. “Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul,” (10) this final line drives home the intertwined nature of a person’s soul and that of a spider’s isolation and work ethic. Both are stuck in a state of loneliness, reaching out for an anchor to ground them; both are dwelling in a position of exhaustion and wandering through life hoping to break the cycle. (491) All work is honestly obtained and is my own.