26. Analyze Craft and Structure—“A Noiseless, Patient Spider,” Walt Whitman
Read the following poem. Then, answer the question(s).

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;
5 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;
10 Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A What is the central idea of the first stanza? (CHOOSE FROM ANSWERS A THROUGH D.)
(Part A) A spider keeps sending out thread to explore its world.
(Part A) A spider can only see what is in front of it, not beyond.
(Part A) A spider is not aware of the futility of its actions.
(Part A) A spider does not worry about how difficult its task is.