‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’; Whitman flings his soul somewhere

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‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’ (1881) delivers a powerful, two stanza poem comparing the body and soul to a spider and its web. The speaker of the poem. After two readings it appears that the Spider=Speaker’s Body and its web=Speaker’s Soul. We will also look at language, symbols, and tone/mood. Check out the poem 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, 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(by Walt Whitman 1819-1892)

***

Objects and Symbols

*A Spider

*The Soul

*A Bridge

There may be more objects you spot, but the poem’s title mentions a spider and the Speaker seems to be observing this little creature closely. The Speaker then says, “Oh my Soul…” in the second stanza which has some significance which we’ll explore later and finally there is the mention of a bridge being needed which will be formed in due time.

*Language/Rhyme

Here is where we get to more meat and potatoes of the poem, where they flow of the words and their positioning gives juicy meaning. Remember, this is what I gleaned from my reading, it may not necessarily be what you discover.

*”Noiseless, Patient”(line 1-slant rhyme)

*Mar’d…mark’d(lines 2-3; repetition)

*Vacant, Vast(line 3-alliteration)

*Filament, filament, filament(line 4-repetition)

*measureless oceans(line 7- slant rhyme)

*”Ceaseless musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect with”(line 8-9- ‘ing’ sounds-slant rhyme)

Plenty of slant rhyme and repetition. Slant rhymes are families of words that are not “whole rhymes(like “cat”-”hat”) but have endings that almost rhyme in sound. Like noiseless and patient- hear the “ent” sound? Also the repetition have a particular wave to it. Think of what a spider does. A spider throws out its thread, seeming never-ending and so of course there will be repetition here as the Speaker tries to establish a rhythm similar to a spider sitting and tossing its thread.

Then we come to the Speaker’s comparison of his/her body to a spider and its web. Lines 6-7 mirrors line 4.  Check it out:

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them;(line 8)

It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;(line 4)

Tone/Mood

In Line 8 the human being has its soul tossed from it and it seeks its source. This could be Heaven. In line 4, the spider throws out filament after filament, seeking what it may catch and hold on it. Now, this poem can have double meaning. I am speaking of the afterlife but what if it’s about venturing out on one’s own to discover what is out there?

The speaker seems to moan, “Oh my soul” a couple of times in this poem. The Speaker cares about this unseen property in the body and the Spider is an object he/she can properly compare it to. I can’t say the poem is sad, but the Speaker is seeking something.

After your reading, is the Speaker sad? Ambivalent? Joyous? Or other?

I love responses!

*Key Terms*

Promontory-a high piece or point of land

Filament-a single thread or flexible thread

Gossamer- film of cobwebs

Ductile-capable of being drawn into wires

Prose Parable: My Lord and the Frog

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I asked the Lord one day if one thing mattered:

Should I go to church?

 Hurt and pain glowed in his eyes

And I couldn’t fathom why.

“My Lord?” I ask. “What is wrong? Is it my question?”

By now the day has grown dark and the pond water becomes filled

with creepy things:singing crickets, hopping frogs, and nagging mosquitos.

His eyes were black as the night pond and his gaze caressed my soul-

such as a lover’s.

“My dear one,” he began. “Out of all the questions that could fill you up in one lifetime. In this expansive universe with all the glorious stars made from His Glory and Beauty, you ask if you must go to church?”

When he put it that way I felt a little silly, in fact I felt angry that I could be so dumb.

But he placed a hand upon a green lily, slid it over closer to the frog eying us.

It shot his long pink tongue; caught something- I yelped because it was so long and nasty!

From green came pink, then green tinted my skin( at least I’m sure it did)

The frog caught its ride, caught up in the rapturous moonlight RIBBIT was its call.

“The frog can be nice,” my Savior said. “Its tongue and preference are biologically wired but it must do this to live. Others may not like it, but the frog’s grand purpose is for this: To eat. And serve as a lesson for you.

“It does not care about congregating with others, although that can be nice and sometimes fruitful. But does being alone  negate its purpose? It catches the flies near your doorstep which if it hadn’t, the flies would have landed upon your food, birthed maggots, buzzed annoyingly in your ear. The frog does this and does not congregate. In fact if it was, it would miss its mission.”

I understood my Lord, but I secretly thought, “I am no frog.”

He smiled, a heavenly smile that made it turn day again. “All are small on this planet to Him who made you, but you are so significant. So precious.”

“I am told its important to fellowship. I must be in a church!” Desperation for a clear answer stained my voice. My Savior did not flinch. He knew everything.

“The world says you need it. Do you need it?”

“Sometimes.” Then I heard an owl say Hoo! “Sometimes.”

“Then if my word is being taught, if it is being lived out and if you can forgive each other in love, it should not matter where you fellowship. Do it in My Name. He is everywhere and in all places, you must choose to open your eyes and see Him.”

Tracking An Author: Like athena from zeus’s head and my new book

Athens: Kallimarmaro Stadium/Photo by wallyg

 

 

Welcome back to Tracking an Author or TAA. It has been quite a while since I’ve done this kind of blog post but if you are curious about the writing journey and would like to read the tips and tidbits I am learning along the way, feel free to click on “Tracking An Author” tag in the cloud. Meanwhile, I am coming to a head with my second full length book and have nothing left to worry over except the cover. In fact there’s a nice, stunning photo I can use for the front that my husband designed.

New things I’ve learned:

If you have never self published in print before, here’s something to know- CreateSpace so far is better for me as far as affordability goes and ease of use. Secondly, the custom size(6×9) seems to be the standard trim fit they use for 24-250 page books. Industry sizes include 7×10 and 8×11 but for the book to be a good “novel size” and accepted into most online and physical bookstores, 6×9 seems to be the acceptable format.

CreateSpace also accepts document uploads in .doc, .docx, and pdf formats.

A little about my new book 

In 2010, I completed “The Prayer Monologues: These Brass Hands”. With much encouragement from friends and the strength to dig up poems that were little snapshots of my life history and part observation, the publication process became a joyous one. A genuine first.

However, in between that time I focused more on my fiction and began to feel torn. Ever have that feeling that too many stories and ideas are pouring into your head? Well, right now I have two fiction novels in my mind as I go on to finish the book cover to this one. And a free short novella that thankfully made it out of my head like Athena from her father Zeus’s head.

This book of poems is a tad bit different from the first. The muse had little to do with this one except for maybe the fillers; the foundation was built from watching the news, reading the newspaper, and thinking back on where I come from. My hope is that the book will make people tick, think, reflect or whatever poetry is meant to do. Here’s a snippet of the contents from my new book:

Book 1: Rebirth in a New Country

5

Book 2: Heroes in My Head, the Blood in My Dreams

34

Book 3:  Because I’m Caught Between the Body and a Spirit’s Space

71

About the Author

113

As I mentioned, I just have to worry over a cover now. The hardest part after that is sure to come, but I’ll keep you posted.

Have you written anything lately? Where can we find your work?

Two different books, one tells the story, marketing uses story

Daughters of Africa by Margaret Busby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I chose plenty of narratives and stories to read while curled up on the couch. The words were so inspiring and so real, it punches the soul and takes you to the place in Africa country, or African hearts in America.

The slave narratives, although gritty and real, provided words of encouragement for today. Words by Maria Stewart and “Old Elizabeth”

“I mourned sore like a dove and chattered forth my sorrow, moaning in the corners of the field, and under the fences.”

From Elizabeth(“Old Elizabeth”)[1863]- spent first thirty years in bondage in Maryland and at the age of forty-two began preaching career.

This is just a piece of the intelligent, soulful writing from women in the past. This is why the book received five stars from me and I hope others sample more from this book of biblical proportions.

View all my reviews

StoryBranding: Creating Stand-Out Brands Through The Power of Story by Jim Signorelli

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As someone who writes stories and is interested in how to market brands for others, Jim Signorelli’s book, StoryBranding is right on time and because there was just so much information, I decided to focus on a couple of real key items which unlocked my perspective some on the brand marketing idea.

First, Jim Signorelli’s definition of a story goes like this: “A narrative about a character dealing with some obstacle to achieve some important goal” (p.31) With this in mind he tells us that both prospects and brands have an obstacle to cross and the barrier can only be broken down once we know the prospect’s inner and outer layer and the brand’s inner and outer layers. He brings on a bus load of examples of how to’s and what not to dos using McDonald’s, Denny’s, Oldsmobile and Old Spice as brands to study.

Second, Signorelli offers a review of basic principles at the end of each chapter so it sort of clarifies things for you if you’re feeling overwhelmed or just a simple study guide.
The downside could be the simple misspellings found in the book, but then again, it was an uncorrected proof and is probably fixed at this time.

If you’re looking for a book which cajoles you to think outside of the box and if you are reading to try your creative minds in learning how to tell a story, the marketing communications way, the this book is definitely for you.

Book Details:
StoryBranding
Author: Jim Signorelli
Published: Greenleaf Book Group Press(2012)
ISBN: 978-1-60832-145-2
228p

View all my reviews

For a limited time only…The Prayer Monologues is available as a free download!

E.J. Smith | CreateSpace

As mentioned on me and my hubby’s website Brass Hands Books, we are going to deliver more of our books for free, more often. We can identify with everyone else these days that purchasing books at any amount of cost can be a risk(but that is why we have sampling so people don’t waste their time and money on books they’d rather pass over).

My  book The Prayer Monologues will be available for free download to your Sony, Kobo, ePub readers, B&N, and Kindles.

Why not print books?

Well, I do have the book available in print for those trying to keep the classic book in hands-I totally get it! However, giving away ebooks seem quicker and easier to distribute rather than order more print books for a giveaway(which I will do next year anyway, stay tuned).

Head over to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/20106, to download your FREE copy of my book The Prayer Monologues.

I thank you in advance for your Tweets, Likes, Diggs, and honest reviews!!

Prose Poetry For Pros

 Recently, I stopped by Writer’s Digest to see hows it going. I do this often. Anyhow, I came across a contest going on right now. Robert Lee Brewer is asking for prose poetry to place on his web content and the winner will be chosen. This contest ends October 7, 2011.

So, do you know what I did?

I went ahead and formed my own prose poem. Please visit the link above for his article on writing prose so you’ll know how to write it and glean inspiration. Soon, I will post up information on prose poetry as well. Anyway, off topic: What I have done was wrote my own prose poem and it does not adhere to rules like: Begin with a capital letter, end with a punctuation, etc. etc. it is free flowing like a shower.

Here goes:

THE INFOMERCIAL

the weights were, oh say, 8 pounds a piece these hand weights I got the other day, they look small, they are shiny and smell of cool rubber over asphalt. I sniff them more than pull on them, but I pull on them with my chubby, feminine hands. Soon very soon the commercial will go off and motivation will wave good bye to me.

pulling ever harder on these 8 pound weights I lift as muscles scream as an old house door which never been in use, I reach higher higher    higher! Like the slender toned brunette says in the commercial. Her coltish legs tease me and mock me as she wiggles in appreciated freedom while the weights slowly succumb to gravity and she shouts: “If I can do it! You can too!” The scene cuts to her false before picture slamming down BBQ ribs and my refrigerator asks me if I want that second bite.

I slow down the reps and the screen flips to her sweating in some alien suit which suddenly fits her. It is is not fair and so I drop and give myself twenty just like she does. I want to be an alien too! Day 30 and the only results is that jealousy has grown better, leaner muscles than me and the doctor just told me to slow down I am at my normal weight.

Copyright©2011 by E.J. Smith