PoemHunter.com   
A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman   
Search:     
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman (1819-1892 / New York / United States)
Biography   Poems   Quotations   Comments   More Info   Stats  
Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, on the West Hills of Long Island, New York. His mother, Louisa Van Velsor, of Dutch descent and Quaker faith, w .. more >>
345 poems of Walt Whitman
File Size:4008 k 
File Format: Acrobat Reader
To download the eBook right-Click on the title and select "Save Target As".
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Walt Whitman : 11 / 343 next poem >>
  
 
Share |

 
A Noiseless Patient Spider

User Rating:

8.1 /10
(52 votes)



 
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.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, 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. 10

Walt Whitman


Share |


Read poems about / on: ocean

 
  Comments about this poem (A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman )
Click here to write your comments about this poem (A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman )
 
  DR. A.CELESTINE RAJ MANOHAR MD  (11/3/2009 5:35:00 PM)

Like the Spider's tireless engineering feat for existence in a material world, the human soul needs to find a suitable anchorage with God for a meaningful divine existence through repeated attempts and perseverance until success smiles.
Dr John Celes
  JOE POEWHIT  (11/2/2009 10:15:00 AM)

Interesting poem spiders and people. No radio or TV. Had to write about something.
  Michael Harmon  (11/2/2009 8:51:00 AM)

Whitman makes his comparison between a spider and, specifically, the human soul. The use of the word 'soul' points directly to the religious/spiritual aspect of the human condition. His reference to 'seeking the spheres', as in 'music of the spheres'(aka: the design and process of the heavens) , seems to confirm this. My understanding here is, for Whitman, in this poem, the human soul searches for meaning(s) (religious/spiritual, or 'absolute' connections) , with the world or universe like the spider throws out threads of web to connect them to material surroundings.
  Albert Ahearn  (11/2/2009 7:46:00 AM)

'The poem contains two five-line stanzas, the first consisting of one long sentence. The subject is the pronoun I (line 2) , and the main verb is the compound mark'd (line 2) and mark'd (line 3) . The second stanza is one long group of words requiring I marked to be carried over unstated from the first stanza in order to make the word group a complete sentence. If inserted, I marked would occur after And (line 6) or soul (line 6) . The poet achieves a measure of balance between the two stanzas with the words unreeling and speeding in the first stanza and musing, venturing, throwing, and seeking in the second stanza. He also balances isolated in the first stanza (line 1) with detached in the second stanza (line 2) and vacant vast surrounding in the first stanza (line 2) with measureless oceans of space in the second stanza (line 2) .'
  Kevin Straw  (11/2/2009 5:47:00 AM)

The comparison is inaccurate. The spider weaves its web by instinct – its web is planned and constructed like a building from unchangeable instructions within it. Perhaps man is like that too, but not the man that Whitman draws in his second verse.
  Albert Ahearn  (11/2/2009 3:30:00 AM)

'A Noiseless Patient Spider' is a lyric poem. It develops the following themes:
The quest, or exploration, for meaning and knowledge in the vastness of the universe.
The courage to venture forth alone into unknown territory.
The patience to build a network that links one stopping place to the next.
The perseverance to carry on until the “gossamer thread” (line 8) connects to a goal
The poem compares a spider to a human. Each creature tirelessly constructs bonds to its surroundings. A spider spins silken thread to span a void. A human builds ships, airplanes, bridges. Sometimes he crosses a void with a telescope (Galileo) or reaches new plateaus of knowledge with a question (Socrates) or a theory (Einstein) .'
  Ramesh T A  (11/2/2009 1:38:00 AM)

The spider's web bridge is well compared to love's bridge of thoughts and feelings connecting the soul!
  Logan Lamech  (11/2/2008 10:04:00 AM)

The comparison and the portrait are both timeless.

Logan Lamech
www.eloquentbooks.com/LingeringPoets.html
  Michael Graham  (5/5/2007 8:56:00 AM)

in Whitman's day the mind worked silently. Today we seek our soul knowledge amid the noises of the machine and advertising age. Good luck! Try to stand at the open barn door with Walt, gazing upon cows and horses. Then your soul will come whispering.

Read all 12 comments >>
 
  People who read Walt Whitman

 
 
  More classic poets:

      The complete list >>

 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
  4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
  5. Dreams by Langston Hughes
  6. i carry your heart with me by ee cummings
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You by Pablo Neruda
  8. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
  10. I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair by Pablo Neruda
  11. Television by Roald Dahl
  12. One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
  13. Warning by Jenny Joseph
  14. As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes
  15. A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe
  16. Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
  17. If by Rudyard Kipling
  18. On the Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan
  19. Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
  20. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth
  21. Alone by Edgar Allan Poe
  22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
  23. The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
  24. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
  25. All That is Gold Does Not Glitter by JRR Tolkien
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
  Top 500 Poets

  1. Pablo Neruda
  2. Langston Hughes
  3. Maya Angelou
  4. Charles Bukowski
  5. ee cummings
  6. Shel Silverstein
  7. William Shakespeare
  8. Dylan Thomas
  9. Spike Milligan
  10. Billy Collins
  11. Emily Dickinson
  12. Khalil Gibran
  13. Sylvia Plath
  14. Dorothy Parker
  15. Elizabeth Bishop
  16. Ted Hughes
  17. Roald Dahl
  18. Robert Frost
  19. Walt Whitman
  20. Allen Ginsberg
  21. William Blake
  22. Edgar Allan Poe
  23. Mary Oliver
  24. Robert Browning
  25. William Wordsworth
The complete list of Top 500 Poets >>
 
 

 Search in the World Poetry Database => 

 Search:    tips
Hide the search box!
 
 
  E-MAIL THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND
Found this page interesting? Recommend it to your friend!     Your E-mail:    Friend's Email:      
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
11/8/2009 2:42:54 AM. #.1# You Are Here: A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | GameGar | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Annabel Lee | Sorry Poems