by Oscar Wellington

Created on: August 11, 2009

Walt Whitman's "A noiseless patient spider" is a fascinating piece that uses metaphor to compare the speaker's own soul with that of a spider spinning filament.

In the first verse, the speaker explains that he is observing a spider ever so carefully: "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" (1-5). Rather than having a casual look, the speaker is intently watching this spider, taking note exactly what it is doing. The spinning of the web is so amazing that the speaker almost gets lost in simply watching it. Thus the speaker not only is literally watching a web being formed, but without realizing is metaphorically getting "caught in a web" of thought and awe.

More importantly, the speaker is learning from this spider. The speaker marks exactly where the spider stands and pays attention to its isolation. In addition, the speaker writes how the spider accomplishes exploration, and the speaker is almost jealous, wondering how he can imitate it. All that the speaker can do is to jot down: "how to explore the vacant vast surrounding" that the spider is so capable of.

In the second verse, the speaker talks to his own soul before going into a mind-state where he compares the spider weaving a web to the intricate weavings of his soul: "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" (6-10). Note that the spider "stood" firm while the speaker's soul can only "stand". This is a reflection of how the spider is rooted in its purpose, it knows what its life is about (spinning filament), which is why the speaker laments for his own soul (which can only stand because it is so indecisive, thus it is "detached").

Another important note is that the spider is as the title states: "noiseless" and "patient." Meanwhile, the speaker's soul cannot sit still or feel at peace, it is "ceaselessly musing" and "throwing" looking for answers. In addition, the speaker explains that his soul is almost literally caught in the spider's web, because it is "surrounded." Furthermore, the speaker already explained how limitless the spider's filament was, which is why the speaker's soul is not just caught, but wrapped in both "measureless oceans of space" as well as a "measureless" amount of webbing.

Finally, the speaker sees his soul and the spider as similar. While the spider builds its web as a "bridge" to "hold" itself, the speaker's soul similarly has need of a metaphorical "bridge" that must be "form'd" until it can hold. The poem's last line is also reminiscent of the spider, explaining the "gossamer threads" (webbing) that the soul must "fling" and hope it catches.

Overall, this is an excellent piece. While the speaker's soul shares similarities with the spider, the spider is ultimately the stronger entity. Meanwhile, the speaker can only sit back and watch as he hopes that his soul will someday be able to spin its own "filament" and truly branch out into the world.

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