Who? What? when? where? why?
Walter "Walt" Whitman was a famous American poet, essayist and journalist who over the course of his career acquired the title "father of the free verse". He wrote very sexually overt, controversial pieces and was questioned heavily for that. He was also very politically active and spoke out against slavery in his time and pushed for the abolition but feared that the abolition of slavery would be a threat to democracy.
life and careerWalt Whitman was born May 31st 1819 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of seven sons to Walter and Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. He described his childhood as mostly unhappy and restless due to his family's economic struggles. By the time he was eleven he quit formal schooling to pursue a career to help provide for his family. Walt bumped around for years working for various newspapers and anonymously publishing his poetry in the papers. He did a lot of bouncing around New York teaching and working for newspapers. In 1855 Whitman released a book of his poems called "Leaves of Grass" and it was revised and republished a few times but never did very well. His poems were very controversial and sparked criticism from many people. The book didn't bring much income so he went back to journalism but shortly after quit and joined the Union Army in the civil war, where he got inspiration for a lot of his newer works. Soon after the war he suffered from a stroke and was unable to do much for the rest of his life. Whitman published one more edition of "Leaves of Grass" also called the "Deathbed Edition". Then he died of bronchial pneumonia in 1892 in New Jersey.
A Noiseless Patient Spider and RomaticismIn the poem Walt incorporates the use of imagination in that he imagines a spider as his soul. Imagination is one of the main characteristics of generic romanticism in literature. He also uses nature as a source of spirituality because the spider spinning its web trying to find connections is representing something more deep in comparison to the authors soul.
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A Noiseless Patient Spider 1891This poem focuses on how a little spider, on a rock by the ocean, continuously spins his webs all around and they keep coming endlessly. Then he compares the spider to his soul for the reason that he is trying to make connections to things and people in this world. He relates the spiders endless web spinning to his endless efforts to find connections cause when his web catches somewhere he will be able to build great things off.
Analysis of TextWalt uses a spider spinning its webs as a metaphor for his soul.
The text explains that a spider is so little and has so much space to cast out an infinite amount of webs. Whitman then relates that to his soul reaching out and finding connections in the world and the chance that those connections will lead to somewhere. This can be a result of Walt leaving home at such a young age and trying to branch out and provide for himself. His poetry and literary works are a product of his soul casting its webs. |
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A Noiseless Patient Spider Questions
1.) What do you think the spider and its actions represent? Why?
2.) What does "promontory" mean in the poem?
3.) What does this represent about the authors hopes for himself in this time?
4.) Why do you think Walt used a spider spinning webs out of all of the other things he could have used?
5.) What events in his life do you think pushed him to write this?
2.) What does "promontory" mean in the poem?
3.) What does this represent about the authors hopes for himself in this time?
4.) Why do you think Walt used a spider spinning webs out of all of the other things he could have used?
5.) What events in his life do you think pushed him to write this?
Question Answers ^
1.) The spider spinning its webs represents the authors soul trying to find connections to places or people in this world.
2.) Promontory is a highland overlooking a large body of water.
3.) It was towards the end of Walt's life when he published this poem and I think it was advise for his readers to reach out and find things in your life that make you happy because you have so much potential.
4.) I think he used a spider because spiders spin webs all around wherever they want and whenever they want. That is a good analogy because his point is we have the same potential in finding pathways in life similar to a spider.
5.) I think the fact that he left school and home to be on his own at a young age encouraged him to write this because he had to do a lot on his own and had to find success for himself.
2.) Promontory is a highland overlooking a large body of water.
3.) It was towards the end of Walt's life when he published this poem and I think it was advise for his readers to reach out and find things in your life that make you happy because you have so much potential.
4.) I think he used a spider because spiders spin webs all around wherever they want and whenever they want. That is a good analogy because his point is we have the same potential in finding pathways in life similar to a spider.
5.) I think the fact that he left school and home to be on his own at a young age encouraged him to write this because he had to do a lot on his own and had to find success for himself.
works cited
Hunter, Walt Whitman - Poem. "A Noiseless Patient Spider Poem."Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Hunter, Walt Whitman - Poem. "A Noiseless Patient Spider Poem."Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.