Question

Read the poem ‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’ by Walt Whitman given below:

A noiseless patient spider, I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated, Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself, Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them. And you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres 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.

Based on your understanding of the poem, answer the given questions.

1. The poem uses spider as a metaphor for ______.
   1. Human beings’ tireless efforts for survival.
   2. Human soul’s search for meaning and purpose in life.
   3. Human beings’ striving for power.
   4. Human soul’s search for anarchy.
2. How has the poet described the existence of both the spider and the soul?
   1. solitary, detached
   2. isolated, gregarious
   3. amiable, explorative
   4. imaginative, isolated
3. Complete the sentence appropriately.
   The poet’s use of Repetition in ‘It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament’ indicates ______.
   
4. The mood of the poem is ______.
   1. Gloomy and baffling
   2. Reflective and mocking
   3. Poignant and nostalgic
   4. Pensive and sedate
5. What does the image of ‘gossamer thread’ suggest?

Answer 1

1. The poem uses spider as a metaphor for human soul’s search for meaning and purpose in life.
   Explanation:
   The poet, in this poem, embarks on a philosophical quest which ultimately leads to the question of meaning of life while musing on the vastness and, at the same time, on the short breadth of life.
2. solitary, detached
3. The poet’s use of Repetition in ‘It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament’ indicates spider’s tireless efforts to create a connection between itself and the world around it.
4. The mood of the poem is pensive and sedate.
5. It suggests that the connection may be fragile and delicate, but still essential to the soul’s sense of purpose and belonging in the world.