Poetry is used by writers and authors to convey their feelings, beliefs, and thoughts in a concise manner. Throughout the ages, poetry has developed into an art form, one in which every country, culture, and generation has been able to contribute to it. American poets such as Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes have contributed to the genre, each in their respective time periods. Regardless of when these poets wrote their works, they continue to influence people today. Among the most recognizable pieces written by Whitman, Frost, and Hughes are "A noiseless patient spider," "Birches," and "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," respectively. Each poem differs in narrator and perspective, imagery, and message.

Walt Whitman's "A noiseless patient spider" is told from a first-person perspective. An unnamed narrator observes how a spider is isolated from its surroundings, but has the power to connect itself to these surroundings by launching "filament,...
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