A Noiseless Patient Spider (Christopher Felix)

A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman is the epic comparison of a human, most likely Whitman himself because of the poem’s first person perspective, to a spider. The first pattern shown in the poem is structural. The first sentence, which spans the first five lines of the poem, is completely about the spider and the speaker’s observations of the “noiseless patient spider.” The second sentence, which spans the second half of the poem, describes the speaker and his soul. The juxtaposition of the two stanzas clearly indicates the comparison of the human to the spider.

In the poem, Whitman describe the spider as isolated, a feeling that is extremely relatable. The spider “launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself/ Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.” These lines are examples of how the spider can make an effort to find its way, to fit in. The spider is stuck in a vacant environment and is making its best attempts to explore and escape the dark place. In the part of the poem in which Whitman illustrates the human, he says that the soul is “surrounded, attached, in measureless oceans of space,” which is a direct comparison to the spider.

My guess as to Whitman’s motive behind the creation of A Noiseless Patient Spider was to portray himself via paper and pencil and was intended to be a very reflective piece. Whitman, in reality, was a homosexual, which is not of the norm. The poem describes his soul as something that is different. Whether homosexuality was accepted at the time is irrelevant—Whitman feels that he is different, detached, seeking.

A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman has a main theme of loneliness. Unfortunately, Whitman feels as if he as no one to turn to and feels his life is very comparable to a spider because a spider is very often sequestered from the world.