Topic > Exploring the Loneliness of Identity in "A Silent Patient Spider"

Explaining "A Silent Patient Spider""A Silent Patient Spider" is a poem written by Walt Whitman that emphasizes those who seek meaning and purpose by going out into the world explore. Throughout this poem, alliteration, figurative language, and imagery are used as literary devices to represent the theme. The author conveys that patience and perseverance do not always serve as stepping stones to achieving goals and finding oneself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The ideas expressed in A Noiseless, Patient Spider are found primarily in the spider metaphor. Here the spider is for the soul. The spider throws the thread at anything and moves towards whatever it attaches to. Similarly, Whitman also throws his reflections, thoughts and ideas towards anything and holds whatever they stick to as truth. For Whitman there is little certainty about what is true, as it must be discerned by testing what is presented as truth. Whitman uses imagery in the first stanza to focus on the mood. The speaker describes, “A patient and silent spider, / I marked where on a little promontory it stood alone.” This reveals that the spider is solitary as it stays away from everything else. The image of being isolated creates a dark atmosphere as the spider remains alienated from the rest of the world. These actions show the patience of the spider because, despite being unloved and solitary, it continually remains in the same area without any progress towards being accepted. Whitman also states, “they threw the filaments…always rotating them…tirelessly.” The spider's actions combine to create a desperate mood as it constantly attempts to expand its web to go out and explore the world. However, his isolation prevents him from truly experiencing life, thus creating a desperate atmosphere. Perseverance is shown through the spider's activities because he constantly tries to overcome his limits. Alliteration is used in the first stanza to get readers to pay attention to the overall image created. The speaker says, “he was isolated, / I saw how to explore the vast vacant environs.” Whitman uses the alliteration of the “v” to make readers focus on how isolated the spider is. The emphasis on the two v's makes the readers have more compassion and concern for the spider. The reclusive spider creates a blank image in the readers' minds. This manifests patience because despite being ostracized, the spider still remains in the area waiting for change. Another example of alliteration is: "launched out of himself filament, filament, filament, / ever unrolling them, ever tirelessly." The alliteration of "F" produces a hissing noise, which would most likely sound when a web is thrown. The repetition of "E" shows how often the spider has attempted to spin a web in its small area even if it does not achieve its goals in an attempt to break free from isolation. This example shows how much effort the spider always puts in, but never gets the same result. In the second stanza, the author uses figurative language as a tool to give the work a deeper meaning. The speaker states, “and thou, my soul, where art thou, / Surrounded, detached, in boundless oceans of space.” He introduces his soul into this verse and begins to compare himself to the spider using it as a metaphor. They are both in an empty area, and just like the spider, readers can infer that the speaker is not well-liked and is alone, which prevents him from finding his own identity. Then, the speaker goes on to describe, “As long as the very thin thread.