Throughout history, people have questioned the meaning of life. We wonder why we are here, what we should do, what is right and what is wrong. Poets have long contemplated these eternal questions in numerous poems, using many sorts of metaphors and similes.
Sometimes, the pressure of trying to figure out why we exist is very painful. It leads to terrible stress and doubt about our lives. This is known as an “existential crisis,” which translates as a deep confusion about the purpose of life.
What poet has not suffered an existential crisis? In fact, this experience marks a person’s entrance into the world of poetry. The existential crisis is characterized by doubt, confusion and despair concerning one’s role and identity in the world.
Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider is an excellent description of the lonely angst of life. He compares the construction of a web with the human task of trying to find their place in the world.
Read the poem aloud as you visualize the images.
A Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman
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1. A noiseless patient spider |
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2. I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated, |
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3. Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, |
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4. It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself, |
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5. Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them. |
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6. And you, O my soul where you stand |
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7. Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space |
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8. Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, |
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9. Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold, |
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10. Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul |
First Stanza: The Spider’s Web
The first stanza in Whitman’s poem carefully describes a spider that patiently spins its web. It sits all alone on a shelf (promontory, line 2) in the middle of a wide, empty space (vacant, vast surrounding, 3). Whitman seems to be observing the spider for a long time. The spider completely captures his attention. He begins with very simple description, mindfully noting each detail of the spider’s action. He watches the spider sending out thread after thread (filament, 4) of its web. An interesting observation is that the threads come out of itself (4), which shows how deeply this activity is part of both the spider’s body and its soul. This point becomes more significant in the second stanza. The spider is calm and patient, doing what all spiders do naturally without haste (5). Read the poem aloud once again.
Second Stanza: The Human Web
Whitman’s second stanza focuses on his own soul, who, like the spider, is standing alone in wide empty spaces. The spaces are metaphorically compared to infinite oceans (line 7). The human soul is very busy thinking and imagining (musing), travelling and exploring (venturing), seeking love and friendship (throwing), asking and wondering (seeking) (8). The human soul engages in many activities trying to discover its place in the world, seeking a true home. The human web is metaphorically compared to a bridge (9) that the human can use to connect with people, connect with life, and find stability in life (anchor, 9). Like the spider, a human being continues to send out its delicate, gossamer threads hoping to connect with the true meaning of life (10). Read the poem aloud, this time emphasizing the spiritual feeling in each line.
Visualize
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During your visualization, imagine yourself as the spider. |
The next step can be done alone or with the guidance of a teacher who gentle reads the instructions aloud to the class: Create a picture in your mind of the silent spider carefully spinning its web day after day. Imagine the spider weaving and designing its web, thread by thread. The spider is creative, skilled and magically artistic. This is a gentle, peaceful event that calms the mind just by imagining it or observing it.
During your visualization, imagine yourself as the spider. See how you also are busy weaving, connecting, creating your life with delicate patience. Your visualization can combine images of the spider and yourself side-by-side, seeking the meaning of life.
After the visualization, describe the images and feelings that you experienced. Share these with your friends, or write them in your poetry journal.
Make it Real
The further power of the poem is to help us appreciate nature. From our appreciation, we discover a hidden message in nature all around us. Take some time to look around your house or garden to find a real spider at work, simply weaving a web, following the pattern of its existence. Sit comfortably and observe the spider as a form of meditation. Keep your mind on the spider and its craft.
Soon, your mind will make the connection back to yourself, and you will see the deep similarity and affinity that you share with the spider.
Third Stanza: Your Own Life
In response to Whitman’s poem, write a third stanza about your own life. Follow Whitman’s form of five lines that describe self, location, action, patterns and hope. Give specific details of your life that personalise the poem for you.