Free Verse · Life
A Noiseless Patient Spider
by Walt Whitman · 1871
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.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/a-noiseless-patient-spider
Quick facts
- Poem
- A Noiseless Patient Spider
- Poet
- Walt Whitman
- Published
- 1871
- Length
- 10 lines
- Form
- Free Verse, Short Poems
- Themes
- Life, Hope, Nature
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 10 lines · 2 quintains
- End rhyme
- No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Walt Whitman1819–1892
- Source record
- WikisourceA Noiseless Patient Spider by walt-whitman, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1871
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 f23942a16e8b80b1…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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