"A Noiseless Patient Spider"

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, surrounded, 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.

Analysis:

This poem was written in 1863, some time before “O Captain, My captain!”. It is divided into two stanzas, describing and comparing a spider spinning restlessly its web and the restless wanderings of a soul. The first stanza is descriptive, and portrays a person observing a spider spinning its web, while the second stanza is a comparison. The poet is comparing the spider’s spinning to the restless wanderings of a soul, which is “stuck” in a world that is can only vaguely comprehend. There are too many mysteries and concepts that humans cannot understand. Another viewpoint on the second stanza is that the spider is the wandering soul. However, unlike the spider, the soul has nothing to connect with. Like a spider is building the web, the soul is randomly “throwing pieces” of itself (l.8) hoping that it will find a solid piece onto which it will start “building its own web”. Themes explored in this poem are isolation and exploration. Whitman helps us with isolation for the actually uses the word “stood isolated” (l.2). He describes how the soul is cut off from the outside world. Also exploration is evident, for both the spider and the soul explore the world, even though in two different ways. This theme gives a positive tone to the poem: in the end the spider will continue its web and the soul will make contact with someone, somewhere. This poem is full of hope, and invites people to explore and search for their happiness.

http://www.helium.com/items/1009614-poetry-analysis-a-noiseless-patient-spider-by-walt-whitman

"O Captain! My Captain!"

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up -- for you the flag is flung -- for you the bugle trills;

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths -- for you the shores a-crowding;

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;

The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

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Analysis:

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This is one of Whitman's most famous poems. "O Captain, My Captain!" was written in homage to the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865. It was published in the latest version of "Leaves of Grass", Whitman's collection of poems. The poem is composed of three stanzas, and is a "symbolism poem", a simile representing Abraham Lincoln after his death. The poem has (almost always) the rhyming scheme AABB or ABAB. Whitman uses a metaphor in his poem, when the calls the President "captain of a ship" (l.1-2), referring to the President of the United States or the civil war, for Lincoln was in fact a commander of it. "The fearful trip is done" (l.1) means that the war has ended, and the soldiers are returning victorious from battle. However, while "the ship" is returning to the port, the captain bleeds, and then falls cold and dead. People are asking him to rise ans join the party, but he does not answer, he is still and pale. The phrase "fallen cold and dead" repeated at the end of each stanza emphasizes the horror and builds tension. While the ship is anchoring, people are stating to mourn, for the captain is dead. Major themes in this poem are loyalty towards Lincoln "O Captain, My Captain!" (l.1) and death "my Captain lies fallen cold and dead" (l.8).

http://www.helium.com/items/213457-literary-analysis-o-captain-my-captain-by-walt-whitman