Student Question
In "A Noiseless Patient Spider," is the narrator envious or jealous of the spider? Why?
Quick answer:
The narrator of "A Noiseless Patient Spider" seems envious of the spider's ability to tirelessly and successfully cast filaments to connect with its surroundings. The poem draws a metaphor between the spider's actions and the human soul's quest for meaning and connection. While the spider successfully creates its web, the soul faces a more complex and challenging task, making the spider's success appear enviable to the speaker.
It does seem, perhaps, that the speaker of Walt Whitman's poem "A Noiseless Patient Spider" is somewhat envious of how the spider is able to "tirelessly" and constantly launch filaments that are able to catch onto something.
The controlling metaphor of Walt Whitman's poem is that of the soul being likened to the spider as it is "seeking the spheres to connect them." Much like the spider, the soul casts filament after filament in an effort to find meaning and a sense of the divine. But, the patient spider seems more successful in its venture of launching "filament, filament, filament."
Certainly, the soul's task is more difficult and more complicated. The soul is
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,...
In Whitman's poem, much like the spider, man also finds his realm beginning within himself. But, unlike the spider, who engages in the daily spinning of his webs, the soul that reaches out must generate an essential, yet extraordinary anchor that can hold because such casting is not part of man's mundane world; it is, instead, a transcendent experience.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.