Class-VI

Subject-English
Book – Oxford New Pathways (Literature Reader)
Poem – The Spider and the Fly
By- Mary Howitt
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Read the poem carefully.
2. Refer to the dictionary to comprehend difficult words.
3. Question/Answers and Reference to the context to be written neatly in the English
Notebook
4. YouTube link is for better understanding of the poem.
YouTube link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KVkSufAZ1c

ABOUT THE POET

Mary Howitt (1799-1888) was an English poet and author. Her poem ‘The Spider and the
Fly’ is her most famous work, although with her husband she authored more than 180
books. When living in Heidelberg, Germany, she learned Swedish and translated many of
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales.

INTRODUCTION

The Spider and the Fly' by Mary Howitt describes the entrapment of a silly fly who gives
into her own vanity and loses her life to a cunning spider. The poem begins with the speaker
describing the efforts of a spider to lure a fly into his dark and evil home.

POEM (With explanation)

Stanza I

“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 pretty things to show when you are there.”
“O 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.”

The poem opens with a dialogue between a predator (the spider) and a prey (the fly). In the
first stanza, we observe the spider alluring the fly to his ‘parlour’. He tries to entice the fly by
saying that he has ‘many pretty things’ to show her inside the parlour. The spider portrays his
home as a mysterious place, as the ‘prettiest little parlour’ to trick the little fly into his web.
The fly understands that it’s a trap and rejects his invitation by saying that she knows that
whoever goes in there, never comes out.

Stanza II

“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.”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed.”

In this stanza the spider employs a different trick to convince the fly to enter his home. He
fakes concern for her by saying that she must be tired and offers her to get some rest on his
comfortable ‘little bed’. He tries to tempt her with a false sense of security as he says that
there are ‘pretty curtains drawn around’. He tries to appeal to the fly’s heart by cunningly
offering a shoulder to rest. He tries to establish a connection before he gets ready to eat his
prey. Thankfully, exhausted or not, the fly is aware of the fact that if she goes in to rest, she
might end up sleeping forever. She refuses the spider’s offer and says that she is absolutely
aware that whoever goes to sleep on his bed never wakes up. The repetition of the word
‘never’ lays emphasises on the distrust of the fly for the spider.

Stanza III

Said the cunning spider to the fly, “Dear friend, what shall 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?”
“O 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.”

This time the spider tries to befriend the fly by calling her ‘Dear friend’. He wants to
establish a false bond of friendship and affection in order to lure her into his home. Again, he
tries to persuade her to fulfil his wish by offering her good food from his pantry. The fly is,
however, determined not to be tricked by the cunning spider. She tactfully refers to the spider
as ‘kind sir’ and tells him that she is not interested in seeing what he has to offer her.

Stanza IV

“Sweet creature!” said the spider, “You’re witty and you’re wise!
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor 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 does not give up. This time he tries to flatter the fly into doing what he wants her
to do. He calls her a ‘Sweet creature’ that is witty and wise. He acknowledges the fly’s
smartness and decides to coax her by repeatedly complimenting her. He also compliments her
appearance – “How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!”. He wants
to show the fly how beautiful she is by offering her a looking-glass to look at herself and
appreciate her own beauty. Until now the spider had been asking her to step into his home-
“Will you walk into my parlor? Will you rest upon my little bed? Will you please to take a
slice?” But this is the first time he suggests her to do something- “I have a little looking-glass
upon my parlor shelf, If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.” Perhaps
it affects the fly’s reply. She shifts her tone from a firm “O no, no!” to a soft “I thank you,
gentle sir”. Either the fly is quite flattered or perhaps, she tries to tell the spider by saying that
she will visit him some other day.

Stanza V

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!”
After all that talk of the fly being witty and wise, the spider actually thinks of the fly – and
calls her ‘silly’. Like so many others he has lured before, he is confident that she has
predictably fallen for his honey tongued words. At this point in the poem, the spider’s evil
intent becomes clear. The spider seems to be in no doubt of the outcome. For well he knew
the silly fly would soon be back again). He weaves a web not easily noticeable (a subtle web)
– ready to trap the fly. His deceitful plan comes to light as he sets his table for the fly – not as
his guest to dine with, but as his feast to dine on. Come hither, hither, pretty fly,’ the spider
calls out eagerly. Feeling like he has tempted his prey, the spider rapidly reels the fly in with
vivid flattery. The ‘robes of green and purple’ refer to the color of the fly’s body, the ‘crest’
or crown likely the fly’s antenna. ‘Gauzy wings’ have now become ‘pearl and silver
wing’; ‘brilliant eyes’ are now ‘eyes like diamond bright’.

Stanza VI

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 parlor; but she ne’er came out again!

The spider seems even more confident now. The weapon of vanity worked for him and he
finally deceived the fly into succumbing to his evil desires. The fly is bewitched by the
spider’s flattery and decides to slowly approach the spider’s web. The fly is engrossed in her
own beauty and thinks only of her ‘brilliant eyes’ and her ‘crested head’. Taking advantage of
this moment, the spider pounces on her and fiercely catches her. The spider quickly drags her
up to his winding stair and then to his den and finally to his little parlour. The fly’s words
finally hold true for her own self as well as she never comes out of the devious spider’s
home.

Stanza VII

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.

There’s a change in the narration style of the poem as the poet ends her tale. She breaks off
from the storytelling mode and directly addresses her audience, offering up a warning or
moral to conclude the poem.

‘Take a lesson from the Spider and the Fly’, the poet counsels. Be distrustful of useless,
sweet talk that is insincere. Not all praise or advice is genuine, therefore you must be careful
of who you listen to. The poet would rather like us not coming into contact at all with sweet
tongued people with not-so-sweet intentions.
SUMMARY

The Spider and the Fly is a cautionary fable that highlights the disastrous consequences of
flattery on gullible and naïve minds. The figure of the spider is used to shed some light on
the actions and the underlying intention of various manipulative elements within our society.
It also demonstrates how vanity and pride can have a crippling effect on the workings of an
otherwise discerning mind.

The poem features a spider who attempts to trap a fly through flattery and deception. After
exhausting various devices to coax the fly into entering his web, the spider lavishes flattery
upon the fly who ends up getting trapped in the spider’s web.

THEME OF THE POEM

Be distrustful of useless, sweet talk that is insincere. Not all praise or advice is genuine,
therefore you must be careful of whom and what you listen to. The poet would rather like us
not coming into contact at all with sweet tongued people with not-so-sweet intentions.

MOOD OF THE POEM

The predominant tone of the poem is one of flattery and deception. This poem tells the story
of a cunning spider who entices a little fly with his tricky words to fall into his trap. He
indulges in fake flattery of the fly. The traps the naive fly through the seduction of flattery.

LITERARY DEVICES

Literary/Poetic device is a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect in their

writing.
1. Simile –
A simile is a figure of speech in which a likeness between two different things is stated
explicitly, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. For instance,
“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”
Here, the fly’s eyes have been compared to a diamond and the spider’s eyes to lead.

2. Repetition –
It is a word, phrase, sentence or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the
text. For instance, “O no, no,” said the little fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed.”
The use of the phrase ‘O no, no’ and ‘never, never’ emphasises on the fly’s firm dedication
to not enter the spider’s web.

3. Alliteration –
The close repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words, is called
alliteration. For instance,
“dismal den”

4. Metaphor-
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which an indirect comparison is made between two
objects that seem dissimilar but actually have things in common. For instance,
‘ crust upon your head’
MIND MAP

The spider allures the fly to his ‘parlour.’

He tries to appeal to the fly’s heart by cunningly offering a shoulder

to rest.

The fly is, however, determined not to be tricked by the cunning

spider.

Tthe spider rapidly reels the fly in with vivid flattery.

The fly is bewitched by the spider’s flattery and decides to slowly approach
the spider’s web.

Not all praise or advice is genuine, therefore you must be careful of whom
you listen to.

QUESTION/ANSWERS

Q1. What are the four ways in which the Spider tries to lure the Fly?
Ans. In order to entice the fly, the cunning spider lures to visit his luxurious parlour. He
cites her about all the facilities that he can provide her in his den. Then the spider pretends
to show concern over how tired the fly must be and offers a respite from the day’s activities
upon his little bed. He further tries to manipulate the fly into feeling guilty for not accepting
his gestures of friendship. Last but not the least, the spider uses his flattery to convince the
fly to enter the parlour and is finally successful in luring the fly.
Q2. The Spider refers to its web as the ‘parlour’, but later the narrator calls it a ‘den’?
Why is this so?
Ans. The Spider, in the beginning, referred to its web as ‘parlour’ because the trap is in the
starting stage and he tries to portray it with all the luxuries of life so as to entice the fly in
order to provide respite from her tiresome life routine.
But, later the narrator calls it a ‘den’ because spider built it well for a long time and now it
was ready for the fly to be entrapped. He calls it den because this is the place where he
executed his evil plans.

Q3. What makes the fly change her mind and enter the Spider’s trap?
Ans. In the pursuit to attract her, the spider very smartly appreciates the Fly as a very sweet
and loving creature who is very witty and wise. He adores her delicate silver wings and her
brilliant eyes that shine like diamonds. He also appreciates her green and purple robes and
the beautiful crest upon her head and flatters her to step into his den to have a look in the
little looking glass and admire herself. The offer seemed very lucrative and the fly fell prey
to it.
 Q4. Think of the character traits of the Spider and the Fly. Which three adjectives
would you use to describe the Spider and the Fly each?
Ans. Spider- cunning, flatterer and cruel
Fly- shy, fickle-minded, foolish

SELF LEARNING

Note: Frame the answers of your own to the question given below. Use the clues to
frame them.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

“Sweet creature!” said the spider, “You’re witty and you’re wise!
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf,
If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”

a. Who is referred to as the sweet creature?

Ans. The Fly- sweet creature
b. Why does the speaker praise her?
Ans. The speaker wants to tempt her- get close to him – in order to eat her.

c. Is the creature really wise? Give reasons.

Ans. No- gets fooled by the spider’s flattery.
 Email- Writing

E-mail or electronic mail is one of the most popular uses of internet today. The advantages of
an email over a regular mail are that it is fast, inexpensive and convenient. It is delivered
almost instantly. All types of files can be attached to the messages. While sending an e-mai ,
we need an address , a message but not stamps.

Parts of an E-mail:

Date: Date Month, Year

Email: It has two parts – User ID and identity of the Email service.These parts are separated
by the symbol @. For example: abcd@gmail.com

Subject: Write in a line what your message is all about.

Salutation: Dear…..

Content: Opening sentence should start with a greeting. Always write ‘Thanks for your
message’ while replying.

Clarity in tone: The content should be brief, clear and upto the mark. Avoid extra details.

Paragraph: Each main idea should be written in a separate paragraph so that it will be easy
for the readers to understand.

Signatory: Regards / Love

Name

FORMAT OF E-MAIL

Date : Date Month , Year

From : xyz@gmail.com

To : abc@yahoo.com

Subject :

Dear Abc
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………Content…………………………………………..…
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Regards/ Love
Sender’s Name
Q1. You are Nirav. Write an e-mail to your aunt requesting her to attend the party at your
residence to celebrate the promotion granted to your Dad.

Date : 15 October,2020
_________________________________________________________________________
From : nirav@yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________________
To : abc@gmail.com
_________________________________________________________________________
Subject : Celebration at home
_________________________________________________________________________
Dear Aunt
You will be pleased to know that Dad has been promoted to the post of General Manager.
It is a matter of great joy for all of us. To celebrate this special occasion, a small get
together has been planned next week. It is needless to say that your presence would make it
all the more wonderful. Looking forward to see you next week at our place.
Regards
Nirav

Q2. You are Kajal. Write an e-mail to your friend Smiti inviting her to come to your place
for a vacation. Also share your plans you have in your mind for the same.

Date : 15 October, 2020

From : kajal@yahoo.com

To : smiti@gmail.com

Subject : Invitation for spending a vacation

Dear Smiti
I hope your exams are over. Why don’t you come over to my place since the session break is
going on? It will be fun to spend time together. We will watch movies, play together and visit
the amusement park. My mother would make delicious dishes for us. Do inform me about
your arrival, so that I can make arrangements to pick you up from the station.
Convey my regards to Uncle and Aunt and love to Sagar.
Love
Kajal
Date : 15 October, 2020
From : kajal@yahoo.com
To : smiti@gmail.com
Subject : Invitation for spending a vacation
Dear Smiti
I hope your exams are over. Why don’t you come over to my place since the session break
is going on? It will be fun to spend time together. We will watch movies, play together and
visit the amusement park. My mother would make delicious dishes for us. Do inform me
about your arrival, so that I can make arrangements to pick you up from the station.
Convey my regards to Uncle and Aunt and love to Sagar.
Love
Kajal