Summary
The first stanza of A Noiseless Patient Spider is written about the writer observing a spider on a rock. The author goes on to write about how the Spider makes a mark on the world and its surroundings by weaving it’s web. The second stanza goes on to talk about how the writer of the poem compares his life to the spider’s life. He makes a point that the spider has a strong connection to his own soul in that he is always trying to make connections in the world, just like the spider does with its web.
About the Author
Walt Whitman was a journalist and poet, born may 31st 1819 in West Hill, New York and nickname was The Bard of Democracy, he was also considered one of America’s most influential poet. Walt Whitman had eight brothers and sisters, and he was the second born child. Whitman ended his formal school career at only eleven years old and began working several jobs to help support his family, but at only seventeen years old, he turned to teaching, mainly because of his love for America, democracy, and learning new things. He taught for only five years, then struck an interest in journalism, leading to his new career path.
Even just beginning in journalism, he managed to start his own newspaper called The Long-Islander and in 1846 he became editor of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a very popular newspaper at the time. Whitman did not last long in this company, nor did he in several other newspaper companies because many of the publishers did not like what was radical thinking at the time and his views and opinions on many issues facing the world at the time. Walt Whitman believed in women's rights, wanted slavery to be abolished, an unpopular opinion at the time, labor issues, immigration, and many other views on rights and equality. During the mid to late 1800's, when slavery, other human rights, and equality were being abused, Whitman began writing poetry to express his emotions towards what was going on in the seemingly helpless world at the time.
Text Connection to Transcendentalism
A subtopic of romanticism is transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement in which people began to think differently and more deeply about the world and universe. Transcendentalism was the age of radical thinkers, nonconformists, the veering away from religion, etc. Transcendentalists believed that for every person there exists a relationship between themselves and the universe. They also valued the simplicity of life and nature and believed in intuitive thought. Walt Whitman’s poems’ main focus is making connections with the world and the universe, something that is a clear trait of transcendentalism. Whitman focuses on the desire people have for making deep and meaningful connections with other people and nature. He compares himself to the spider in a way which he says he is always looking to make connections, like the spider making literal and figurative connections with its web.
Analysis of Text
Some symbols that I noticed were present in this poem include the spider, which some may call the “main character” of the poem, the spider’s web, and the ocean. The spider is a symbol and representation for the writer’s, Walt Whitman, soul. Even though this is already implied and pretty much said, I still think that this is a very important symbol. The spider’s web symbolizes the connections made in the world and the universe. The web is so small and is created by such a small insect, but manages to make all sorts of connections to create a wonderful web for the spider. This is in a literal and figurative sence. The poem has no set meter or rhyme scheme, but there are a couple repeated words for emphasis. In the fourth line of the first stanza, the world "filament" is repeated, and in the second line of the second stanza, the word "surrounded" is repeated. The reason the poem has no set meter/tempo or rhyme scheme is because Walt Whitman's style of writing is free verse, the reason his well known nickname was "The Father of free verse". There is also a noticeable switch when reading this poem, from a literal way of writing, to a figurative way of writing. The first stanza is written from a literal point of view, the writer, Whitman, observing a spider sit on a rock while he thinks of the way his web makes connections. The second stanza is written in a figurative way by using the web to represent something much more than a resting place, home, and place to catch prey for a spider, but something used to make higher connections to the wold around it. The two stanzas do not vary in length because the stanzas are meant to be a perfect mirror of each other, mirroring the spider and it's web to the writers experiences and soul. The poem ends in a very optimistic way, with the spider finally making meaningful connections after patiently waiting. The author mirrors this to his own life because in his own life is seems as if it was difficult for him to make meaningful connections, but finally he does after waiting.
Study Questions
1.) What are some ways in which Walt Whitman compares himself to a the spider in the poem?
2.) How do you think the poem got its name, A Noiseless Patient Spider?
3.) What are the most noticeable symbols in the poem?
4.) What is the best way to describe the authors emotion when writing the poem?
5.)What do you think the main idea Walt Whitman is trying to get across in his poem?
Study Question Answers
A1.) The author, Walt Whitman, compares himself to this tiny spider by referencing the spider's web, to his own soul, constantly making connections with the world around him.
A2.) The best way to describe the way the poem got it's name is by carefully analyzing the poem. The spider is resting on a rock, quietly and patiently for it's moment to make connections, literally and figuratively.
A3.) Answers may vary. The most noticeable symbol in this poem would be the spiders web. The theme of this poem is connections and relationships with the world around you and this is what Whitman is trying to portray by using a spider as the poem's main focus.
A4.) The best way to describe the authors emotion is feelings of relation to the spider and the search to build meaningful and effective bonds. Inspired is another emotion that could describe the author, Whitman, because while watching this spider wait patiently for the right time to build connections, he implies that to his own life and decides to try to be more life the patient spider would be, because in the end it is worth is to wait to make strong and meaningful connections.
A5.) The main idea that Whitman is trying to get across is that no matter what you are, weather you are a tiny insect, a human being, an animal, etc., you are constantly making connections to the atmosphere around you. Even when you are not intentionally doing so, connections are always made between people, places, and things.
Works Cited
"208. A Noiseless Patient Spider. Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass." 208. A Noiseless Patient Spider. Whitman, Walt. 1900. Leaves of Grass. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Walt Whitman Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
"Walt Whitman Facts." Walt Whitman Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Gundersen, Kathryn. Boghani, A. ed. "Walt Whitman: Poems “A Noiseless Patient Spider” Summary and Analysis". GradeSaver, 16 August 2014 Web. 3 December 2015.
External Recourses
https://loredanacrupi.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/the-bard-of-democracy-walt-whitman/
http://study.com/academy/lesson/walt-whitman-transcendental-and-realist-poet.html
http://www.biography.com/people/walt-whitman-9530126#related-video-gallery
http://www.transcendentalists.com/what.htm