A Noiseless Patient Spider Analysis

236 Words1 Pages
In A Noiseless Patient Spider, Walt Whitman makes exemplary use of metaphor and imagery. Whitman begins the poem by vividly portraying the experience of observing a spider beginning the weaving of it’s web, allowing the audience to visualize the elaborate analogy he has created. In the second stanza, he evolves these images further into metaphors for the soul's desire: "to the bridge you will need be formed" and "till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere,” expressing the idea of the soul’s desperation for connection to something of meaning in the world around it. Even the title of the poem itself creates an image in the reader’s mind. The phrase "A noiseless patient spider" invokes an illustration of a tiny spider sitting perfectly