A noiseless patient spider

A noiseless patient spider Group A   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the time period between 1860 and 1880, war was commonplace and it hit home for most Americans; Walt Whitman was no exception. His brother being wounded contributed to his extended stay in Washington as a nurse. This socio-cultural turmoil is reflected frequently in Whitman’s poetry. For example, in â€Å"A Noiseless Patient Spider†, Whitman expresses feelings of isolation and loneliness writing, â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦on a little promontory it stood isolated, / Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surroundingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  This excerpt clearly conveys a sense of aloneness and longing for companionship, much like Whitman probably experienced in the time period in which he lived. While the cultural upheavals of pandemonium, pride, and war swallowed most of the Americas, Whitman was caught in his own war, on the inside. Whitman longed for connectivity and wholeness in the world. Whitman’s writing also expressed his inne r desire to reach out to the world and find a connection, evident in line four of â€Å"A Noiseless Patient Spider† which reads, â€Å"It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itselfà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This line is significant to the socio-cultural state of the late-nineteenth century society because the spider, and vicariously Whitman, is attempting to reach out to the world for companionship but receiving no response, which represents the apathy of nineteenth-century people. It was more convenient to just blindly participate in a death-plagued war than to progress socially and spiritually. This is where the conflict between culture and nature begins. Nature is the interaction between Whitman and the universe, which is apparently void at this point. Culture is the cities and the masses of people as in â€Å"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry† which reads in the third line, â€Å"Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes, how curious you are to me!† Whitman is looking down at these people, this mass of people, and realizes he has the answers to fix the war society is struggling with; It is peace and harmony in the world through the interconnectivity of the universe. Whitman is stuck, reaching out at the world, and instead he receives the cold shoulder from the stubborn world. This is why it is so generally accepted that he was a â€Å"genius† (10) that was ahead of his time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emily Dickinson seemed to be quite an introvert, and quite a loner, yet found such great talent and ease in expressing the feelings and emotions that were prominent in her life. In â€Å"Success is counted sweetest†, Dickinson expresses feelings of jealousy and sadness that accompany being some sort of a loser. The vivid imagery she conveys through the dying soldier â€Å"whose forbidden ear† hears the â€Å"distant strains of triumph† is an awesome expression of the anguish and sorrow that is n ecessary to know the sweetness of victory and success that Emily apparently desires in life. In â€Å"The Soul selects her own Society†, Dickinson’s use of concise speech seems to highlight the abrupt shutting of â€Å"the Door† by the soul. Dickinson personifies the soul as sitting on a throne above Emperors and â€Å"Chariots†. She believes the soul is the true king of the land and it should be worshiped as the divine medium. This poem connects back to â€Å"Success is counted sweetest† because after the soul makes its selection, all others are closed out, and denied the taste of victory and success. In â€Å"After great pain, a formal feeling comes† Dickinson portrays a death as something that slows down time and numbs a person spiritually. â€Å"First-Chill-then Stupor-then the letting go-â€Å"; the poem ends with several dashes depicting this time-altering state of shock that pain and death cause in the heart of those who experience it. Finally, in â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz-when I died†, Dickinson writes, â€Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Signed away / what portion of me be / Assignable-and then it was / There-interposed a Flyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  This excerpt expresses Dickinson’s frustration over the pettiness of people coming to claim their stake in someone’s life and keepsakes when they die, and if death is not unfortunate enough, a fly buzzes in front of the narrator’s eyes so that he/she cannot even experience the moment of death peacefully. This ironic ending to the life of this individual symbolizes Dickinson’s frustration with life in general.