poem as like a solitary writer trying to connect
with his audience. Like Spider Woman,
the poet sends filaments from the root of his
own being, seeking to bridge the empty spaces,
creating thereby the path between reality and
the soul. Unlike speaking, writing is noiseless
and ideally patient, the writer isolated from
rather than face to face with the ones addressed.
The writer sends the filaments forth, seeking to
capture the attention of readers and turn their
gaze upward and outward.CRITICISMBryan Aubrey
Aubrey holds a Ph.D. in English. In the following
essay, he explains how Whitman developed ‘‘A
Noiseless Patient Spider’’ from early draft to
final version and also offers an interpretation of
the poem based on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s con-
cept of the Over-Soul.
‘‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’’ is a short poem
with a long history. The idea for such a poem
germinated in Whitman’s mind for a number of
years. The earliest trace of it appears in a note-
book entry Whitman made sometime between
1855, when the first edition ofLeaves of Grass
appeared, and 1863. As quoted by Paul Diehl in
Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, Whitman is
reflecting in this note on how little is known in
comparison to the vast amount that is unknown,
particularly concerning spiritual matters:
By curious indirections only can there be any
statement of the spiritual world—and they will
all be foolish—Have you noticed the [worm] on
a twig reaching out in the immense vacancy time
and again, trying point after point? Not more
helplessly does the tongue or the pen of man,
essay out in the spiritual spheres, to state them.
The image of the worm on a twig reaching out
into the vastness of the environment is clearly
related to the later image of the spider on the
promontory. In this notebook entry the image is
used to convey the difficulty of perceiving and
writing about the spiritual laws of life. Know-
ledge is dwarfed by ignorance.
The image of the tiny creature in the vast-
ness of space stayed with Whitman. He did notThe first edition of Walt Whitman’sLeaves of Grass. A slightly altered version of ‘‘A Noiseless Patient
Spider’’ appeared in the fifth edition of this collection(Public domain)
A Noiseless Patient Spider