The Spider and the Fly
By Mary Howitt
“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
“‘Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to shew when you are there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in!”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!”Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, “Dear friend what can I do,
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome–will you please to take a slice?”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “kind sir, that cannot be,
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!”“Sweet creature!” said the Spider, “you’re witty and you’re wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I’ve a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”
“I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you’re pleased to say,
And bidding you good morning now, I’ll call another day.”The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
“Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple–there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue–
Thinking only of her crested head–poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour–but she ne’er came out again!And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.
Summary of The Spider and the Fly
- Popularity of “The Spider and the Fly”: Written by Mary Howitt, the English poet, translator, and writer, the poem “The Spider and the Fly” is a highly interesting poem bedecked with the beautiful conversation of a spider and a fly. The poem first appeared in 1829. It has become a highly popular poem written for children. The beauty of the poem lies in the conversational style and the flattery that the spider engages in to catch the fly.
- “The Spider and the Fly” As a Representative of Memories: The poem presents a spider and a fly engaged in a conversation. The Spider is highly intelligent and wily in that he asks the fly to visit his parlor which has everything that she wants to make her beautiful. However, as she knows that he would catch her and eat her, she rejects his proposal and tries to move away, but the Spider uses his cleverness and tries again by using flattery. Although at first, she does not agree, he resorts to excessive flattery, praising the beauty of her wings, the color of her eyes, and her witty remarks. She soon realizes that he could be true and enters his parlor. As soon as she steps inside the web of the Spider, he jumps at her and catches her to kill her. The poet ends the poetic story by saying that the readers (children) should never pay heed to flattery and should not give ears to such counselors.
- Major Themes in “The Spider and the Fly”: Flattery, false beauty, and the danger of entering somebody’s den without thinking are some of the major themes of this poem. The main idea of the poem is flattery. It means you use false praise to deceive somebody. The Spider clearly uses this tool in the very first stanza. When he fails in the first attempt, he goes for the second and engages in praise as if he is speaking the truth though he is using it to his own end. Finally, he succeeds in catching the stupid fly and eats it. It also shows that sometimes a person is not as good or beautiful or bewitching or powerful as he poses himself to be. Therefore, a person who is termed beautiful often believes in this false theory of being beautiful as the fly does. And herein lies the danger. As this poem was intended for children, it shows that entering some unknown person’s place is full of danger for the children, and they must be careful.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Spider and the Fly
Mary Howitt’s expertise in using literary devices emerges through this poem. Some of the major literary devices she uses here are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly” and the sound of /o/ in “Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /d/ in “dismal den.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ and /l/ in “For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again” and the sound of /d/ and /t/ in “The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den.”
- Dialog: It means to present a conversation between two people. The poem shows the use of dialog between the Spider and the Fly.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Mary Howitt has used imagery in this poem such as “How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes”, “you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself” and “The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den”.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used different implicit metaphors the poet termed the fly as a poor foolish thing as if it is an inanimate thing.
- Onomatopoeia: It means to use words showing sounds. The poem shows the uses of onomatopoeia such as buzzing wings where the buzzing is the sound of the wings.
- Rhetorical Question: It is a rhetorical device in which questions are asked not to elicit answers but to stress upon the idea. The poet has used various rhetorical questions, such as;
“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the Spider to the Fly
- Simile: It is a figure of speech for direct comparison to understand the meanings of a thing being compared. For example, the poet has used the simile “Your eyes are like a diamond bright” or “dull as lead.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as the spider, the fly, bed, parlor, web, curtains, and store showing the use of cunningness.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Spider and the Fly
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and poetic diction with dialog.
- End Rhyme: It means to use rhyming words at the end of the verses. The poem shows the use of end rhyming such as fly/spy, stair/there, and vain/again.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas with each having a different number of verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows an exciting, flattering, and advising tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when teaching children to become beware of flatterers.
And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.
