Sunday, April 10, 2011

"A Noiseless Patient Spider"

This week we are only looking at a few poems, one of which uses a spider to make a point. The spider "It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself, ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them." The poem talks about how the spider uses his filament to anchor itself in order to explore the vacant vast surroundings. In section 2, Whitman begins to speak of his soul, "Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, / Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the sphere to connect them / 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."

I think Whitman is envious of the focus the little spider has. Whitman wants his soul to connect with someone else - The poem doesn't speak of the who, but thinking about how Whitman feels, always at war with himself. Whitman wanted to be accepted, but he needed folks to be open-minded. Though he wanted to have these "relationships" with men, I think he wanted to prove to people that he had a good soul. I think he is speaking of relationships because he talks of "the bridge you will need be form'd" - I think these are bonds or connections. I think life is like a map. We stop here and there, forming relationships, until one day, we find a place to stay. Perhaps this is because we've gotten married, or found our dream job, or just because, but it's that final connection we make that anchors us to one spot. We seek and explore until we find that one place where we'll be happy. Some of us are always seeking, others have better luck. 

I may come back to this poem later this week.  

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