A Noiseless Patient Spider

by Walt Whitman

A Noiseless Patient Spider


At a glance:

The Poem

“A Noiseless Patient Spider” is a short poem, its ten uneven lines divided into two stanzas of five lines each. The initial focus of the poem is a spider that is being observed by the speaker. The use of the indefinite article “a” in the title and the first line individualizes this arachnid, separating it from the representative mass and emphasizing the personal nature of its efforts. The adjectives “noiseless” and “patient” anticipate the poem’s tone of pathos.

This poem is written in the first person, which is typical of lyric poetry; less...

(The entire page is 1755 words.)

Want to read the whole thing?

Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:

  • 30,000+ literature study guides
  • Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
  • An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
  • Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE