A Noiseless Patient Spider

Walt Whitman

1. What does the first stanza suggest about the spider? What activity is the spider engaged in? Keeping in mind that activity, why is the second line so much longer than the first line?
2. The second stanza implies that the speaker is like the spider. In what ways is the speakers soul like the spider? What activity does his soul do? How is that activity like the workings of the spider?
3. The first stanza presents the vacant vast surrounding encompassing the spider, while the second stanza presents measureless oceans of space around the soul. What other similarities and parrallels do you see between the two stanzas?
4. Figurative language: With the use of apostrophe(1ycIak), the poet talks to (and personifies) his own soul and compares it to the spider. What are the effects of the repetition of his apostrophizing the soul ("O my soul")? (the technique)
5. Sound effects: Besides the use of open vowels, we get alliteration as well as repetition of the words such as "mark," "filament," "ever" and "them" in the first stanza. What are the effects of these repetitions of words and the sound pattern? (the technique)
6. Form: the pattern of free verse depends a lot on repetition (with variation) of different poetic elements. Why are there not as many repetitions in the second stanza? From stanza one to two, we see similar kind of variation of line length (which gets longer and longer). What effects are achieved here?(the technique)

1. If you were going to compare yourself to an animal, what animal would you choose? Why?
   
2. The song "Sound of Silence" can be seen as another search for inner soul--by talking to darkness as an old friend.  Please pay attention to the contrasts in imagery between darkness and light, silence and sound.  The phrase "sound of silence" is an oxymoron; can you explain why?