"A Noiseless Patient Spider" is a lyric poem written by the 19th Century American poet Walt Whitman. Whitman originally wrote the poem as part of a longer piece, "Whispers of Heavenly Death," for The Broadway, A London Magazine in 1868. The poem was later republished in an 1891 edition of Leaves of Grass. Although much shorter than many of his well-known poems, "A Noiseless Patient Spider" deals with one of the central concerns in Whitman's work: what it means to be an individual seeking and creating connections with the larger world.
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The Full Text of “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
1A noiseless patient spider,
2I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
3Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
4It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
5Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
6And you O my soul where you stand,
7Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
8Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
9Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
10Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
The Full Text of “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
1A noiseless patient spider,
2I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
3Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
4It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
5Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
6And you O my soul where you stand,
7Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
8Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
9Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
10Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Summary
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Themes
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Isolation and Connection
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Creation and Creativity
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
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Lines 1-3
A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, -
Lines 4-5
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them. -
Lines 6-8
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, -
Lines 9-10
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.
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Symbols
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Filaments/Thread
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Extended Metaphor
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End-Stopped Line
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Personification
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Apostrophe
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Repetition
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Anaphora
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Assonance
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Asyndeton
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Consonance
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Gossamer
- Mark'd
- Promontory
- Filament
- Detached
- Venturing
- Ductile
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Speaker
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“A Noiseless Patient Spider” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
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More “A Noiseless Patient Spider” Resources
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External Resources
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Early Manuscript of "A Noiseless Patient Spider" — See an early manuscript copy of the poem, as well as manuscripts of all of Whitman's work.
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Biography of Walt Whitman — The Poetry Foundation website has biographical information about Whitman, as well as links to many of his poems.
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Reading of "A Noiseless Patient Spider" — Hear actor Paul Giamatti read "A Noiseless Patient Spider" as part of this short Poetry Foundation podcast.
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Emerson's Essay on "The Over-Soul" — Read the full text of Emerson's essay "The Over-Soul" to understand its influence on Whitman's poem.
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Whitman and the Civil War — Read this article on Whitman's work during the Civil War for historical context on the years leading up to his writing "A Noiseless Patient Spider."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Walt Whitman
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