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by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

A noiseless, patient spider
Language: English 
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.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   R. Sowash 

R. Sowash sets stanzas 1-2

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "A noiseless patient spider", appears in Leaves of Grass, first published 1900 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Ronald A. Beckett , "A noiseless, patient spider ", 2014 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Oliver Knussen, CBE (1952 - 2018), "A noiseless patient spider", op. 25 no. 2 (1991) [ soprano and piano ], from Whitman Settings, no. 2, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Deborah Mason , "Whitman interlude", 2010, first performed 2010 [ chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Rhian Samuel (b. 1944), "The Gossamer Thread", 2014/2017, published 2017, first performed 2017 [ mixed chorus and organ ], Tŷ Cerdd [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "A noiseless patient spider", 1998, stanzas 1-2 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and viola or clarinet ], from Three Whitman Songs for mezzo-soprano and viola (or clarinet), no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2012-10-05
Line count: 10
Word count: 87

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