The Spider and The Fly

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THE SPIDER AND THE FLY

Subject: English
THE SPIDER AND THE FLY BY MARY HOWITT

Theme
‘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 Spider and the Fly’ by Mary Howitt was published in 1828 with the subtitle, “A
Cute Version of a Scary Story.” It was first seen by the public in The New Year’s Gift
and Juvenile Souvenir. Since its publication the opening line of the poem, ‘Will you
walk into my parlor?’ said the spider to the fly” has become very well known. It has
appeared within a number of other publications and the full poem was adapted at
least three times for cinema. The text has also been used by composers and
musicians, including The Rolling Stones.
The poem is contained within seven stanzas that follow a consistent pattern of aabbcc,
alternating as the poet saw fit from stanza to stanza. This rhyme scheme is
particularly effective because it forms couplets, or sets of two lines. The separation
into smaller sections allows a reader to move quickly through the pairs.
Another important technique used by Howitt is repetition. There are a few moments
such as in line 30, with the words “hither, hither.” The spider is luring the fly closer
and the repetition makes the phrase more menacing. A reader should also take note
of the instances of consonance. This is the repetition of consonant sounds in a single
phrase. A perfect example is in the second line with an emphasis placed on the ’t’
sound: “’Tis the prettiest little parlor that…”
Summary of The Spider and the Fly

‘The Spider and the Fly’ by Mary Howitt describes the entrapment of a silly fly who
gives in to her own vanity and loses her life to a cunning spider.
The poem begins with the speaker describing the first efforts of a spider to lure a fly
into his dark and evil home. On his first attempt, the spider tells the fly that his
“parlor” is lovely. It is a place anyone would want to be and it is open for the fly to
visit. She declines and then declines three more times as the spider tries other tactics
to lure her in.
The final speech the spider gives flatters the fly’s vanity. This does the trick and
eventually, she comes back and is eaten by the spider. The poem concludes with the
speaker reminding the children reading the text not to pay attention to false words
and evil counselors.
Analysis of The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt

Stanza One
“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;
“‘Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you may spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show 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.”
The syntax of this piece is pretty straightforward. This is due in part to Howitt’s
intention that this piece is read to or by children. Also, the majority of the lines are
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made up of dialogue. The two speakers are a spider whose ultimate goal is to attract a
fly to its “parlor” and the fly who does her best to resist. In the first line, the spider
begins by asking the fly, very nicely, if she will come to the “parlor.”
He adds on the enticing detail that it is the “prettiest little parlor.” The spider is trying
to play down the fear the fly should feel about his lair. It is “little” and pretty—not at
all foreboding. From the first line, it is easy to tell that the spider has ulterior motives.
A reader will be very aware that nothing good will happen to the fly if she agrees. In
order to reach the spider’s home, one must go up a “winding stair.” Once there, there
are curious things to be seen. These two lines make the lair seem somewhat magical,
and much more tempting.
Without even pausing to consider the offer the fly says, “no, no.” There is no reason,
the fly states, to even ask. It knows that those who go up the “winding stair” do not
“come down again.”
Stanza Two
“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high.
Well 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 a while, 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!”
The spider is not deterred. He immediately tries another tactic, telling the fly the
“parlor” can be a place for her to rest. There is a “little bed” and “pretty curtains” in
the room. If she goes there, the spider will be happy to “tuck” her in. In one context
these lines are caring and congenial, in another, they are foreboding and malicious.
The bed represents certain death for the fly and she knows it.
The fly repeats what it said in the first stanza. She tells the spider there is no way she
is going up to his “parlor.” The fly knows that those who go to “sleep upon [his] bed”
never wake up again.
Stanza Three
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!”
In the third stanza, the spider is starting to show his exasperation. He asks the fly,
whom he calls “Dear friend,” what he can do for her. He says he has always felt a
“warm affection” for her and that all he wants is to share the “good store” of his
pantry. Again, there are two different ways these phrases could be taken. The fly
might be interested in the offer of the pantry or see through the deception.
Lucky for the fly she is smart enough to know there is nothing good in the pantry.
There are things, likely the remains of other insects, that she does “not wish to see!”
Stanza Four
“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’d 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 is still not giving up. He turns to compliment the fly on her “gauzy” or fine
and transparent wings. He also calls the fly’s eyes “brilliant,” trying to get the best of
her vanity. The spider offers the use of his “looking glass” or mirror. There, the fly
would be able to admire herself more clearly. If she agrees she will be pleased with
what she sees.
The fly declines the offer once more, telling the spider thank you for the offer, and the
compliments, but they are ineffective. There is a difference in these lines though. It
seems as if perhaps the spider’s endearments are getting to the fly. She states that
she will “call another day,” or come back later. While this is still a “no,” the refrain of
“Oh, no, no” is not present in these lines.
Stanza Five
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 came out to his door again and merrily did sing:
“Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple; there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!”
The spider takes the fly at her word and goes back into “his den.” It is here that he
begins to weave his trap. There will be a web subtly hidden in the corner and the table
will be set, ready to dine on the visitor. The spider is very confident that all his
attempts at luring the fly have finally been successful.
In order to solidify his future meal he goes out and calls once more to the fly. He
refers to her as “pretty fly, with pearl and silver wing.” She is coloured “green and
purple” with diamond eyes. He compares these features to his own “dull” lead-like
eyes. She has a beauty he does not.
Stanza Six
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 grew,
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 the dismal den –
Within his little parlor – but she ne’er came out again!
The speaker expresses her opinion on what happens next with the opening words,
“Alas, alas!” Unfortunately, the fly does come back. She is “silly” and “little” and easily
taken in by flattering words. The fly comes by “slowly” until she was finally near
enough for the spider to jump up and grab her. She was distracted, thinking about her
own beauty and all the compliments paid to her. This was her downfall.
The fly is held “fast” by the spider and taken up to what was once described as a
pretty parlor. Now though, though then use of alliteration, it is referred to as a
“dismal den.” Just like she expected, and repeated three times in her refrain, she did
not “come out again.”
Stanza Seven
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 counselor close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the spider and the fly.
The last four lines of the poem wrap up the moral message present in the text. The
speaker addresses the “dear little children” who are reading or hearing the poem and
tell them to pay no “heed” to flattering words. They are a powerful falsity used by
“evil counselor[s].” One should instead learn from the “tale of the spider and the fly”
and keep bad people far from one’s “heart and ear and eye.”
Q1. Bring out the characteristics of a fable in the poem ‘The Spider and the Fly’.
Ans. A fable is a story in prose or verse. It gives a moral usually at the end by the poet/
narrator or the character, which revolves around human behaviour. Fable in which
animals talk and behave like human beings, is called beast fable. ‘The Spider and the
Fly’, thus, is a beast fable as the poet Mary Howitt has personified her two characters,
the spider and the fly. This poem is a tale written in verse, and the poet has narrated
it in a simple and straightforward manner. The spider is a sly, wily character, while
the little fly is innocent and silly. Through these two characters in her tale, the poet
has cautioned children to be wary of the flattering words of a wicked counsellor.
However, the moral can also be surmised as a lesson for young women who fall prey
to flattering words of men who are manipulating and wicked. Written in a
conversational manner, the story is told through dialogues mostly. The cunning spider
is hungry and wants to eat the little fly. He invites her to his ‘parlour’ to see most
curious things that there. The fly declines his invitation and replies that she knew well
that whoever went to his ‘parlour’ never came back again. The spider then tries to
coaxes her with another offer – to take rest in his comfortable bed. He tells her that
she must be tired from going up so high, so she should take some sleep in his bed
that has beautiful curtains drawn around, and delicate sheet upon it. The fly deftly
turns down this offer too and says that whoever slept in his bed never woke up again.
The cunning spider then asks the fly how should he prove his (false) love to her. He
then adds that his store is stocked with delicacies and invites her to eat and enjoy the
nice food. The fly answers in negative again. The spider now plays smart and calls her
a sweet creature, both witty and wise. With this compliment he is able to mellow
down the fly’s resoluteness against coming to his ‘parlour’, and so she says that she’s
call upon him some day. The spider is convinced of the fly’s return as he knows very
well the power of flattery. And so he quickly starts to weave a web in the corner wall.
He sings while setting up his dinner table where he’ll dine upon the little fly. He then
again calls for the praising her. He calls her a pretty fly with pearl and silver wings,
green and purple robes, a beautiful crest upon her head, and brilliant eyes. This
flattery doesn’t fail and the foolish little fly gives in easily. As she goes closer to the
spider’s web, he catches hold of her and drags her to his dark cell. The poet employs
the irony effect through the fly’s character, who is aware of the dangerous
consequences of entering the spider’s web and keeps refusing all the comforts that he
offers her. However, she is taken in very easily with the use of sweet talks by the
spider, and so she meets her dreaded doom through flattery.
Q2. Who do you think is responsible for the end of the fly in the tragic tale?
Ans. In the tragic tale of ‘The Spider and the Fly’ spider is a wicked creature who is hungry
and who wishes to dine upon the little fly. The fly is innocent, but is aware of the
spider’s meanness. She keeps dodging his advances in her own way. However, she is
caught off guard once he starts praising her eyes, wings and the crest on her head.
She pays heed to the flattery and meets her doom owing to this vanity. So, in my
opinion the fly is responsible for her tragic end. The characters in the tale teach the
readers how they should not be affected by the useless flattering words of a wicked
counsellor. The wicked men use sweet talks and flattery to snare the innocent and
crush their innocence. It is important to keep one’s innocence from being shattered in
this world that is full of sham and drudgery. However, the innocence needs to be
shielded by worldliness so that one knows the good from bad. The wily and shrewd
predators abound the society and win over the gullible with sweet talks and flattery.
They are toxic to innocence, and so the children and women need to be vigilant and
careful to not pay heed to such malicious people. Had the little fly been determined to
not entertain the wily spider’s advances, she’d be safe. While approaching the little
fly, the spider used a few archaic words like ‘hither’ for ‘here’ and ‘shew’ for ‘show’ to
show his politeness. However, his extreme courtesy inly highlighted his wicked
character glaringly. The meek fly kept saying ‘Oh no, no’ in the beginning, and ended
up following the spider at the end. Through its protagonist, the poem brings home the
idea that flattery is too powerful to resist, and people fall prey to this vanity even after
being fully aware of the repercussions.
Q3. What moral does the story convey?
Ans. The Spider and the Fly is a moral fable that conveys a message or moral at the end. It
is about not giving in to the flattering words. In the final stanza of the poem, Mary
Howitt addresses the readers (children) to be cautious against paying attention to the
words of false praises from a wicked counsellor. The poem brings home the idea that
closing ears to flattery is a prudent way to keep safe in this world, which is full of
people who are morally corrupt. The children should learn from the little fly who
succumbed to her vanity and could not resist the flattery from the sly spider.
Moreover, the message that the poet seemed to have shared with the younger lot,
holds true for adults too. Women become easy prey to their flatterers, and perhaps
for this very reason Mary Howitt personified the cunning spider as male and the
foolish little fly as female. The characters in the poem portray well that flattery can
prove fatal too. It is more of a warning to young women, who lack worldliness, against
manipulating shrewd men who seduce them by flattery. Such sweet talk is used
against the innocent women to crush their innocence. In this simple tale of the spider
and the fly, both the characters are engaged in conversation. Their conversation is
indicative of the character traits of the spider and the fly. The spider looks hungry and
is shrewdly devising plans to eat the fly. The fly is little and meek, but is aware of the
spider’s character. However, her wisdom fails miserable when she is flattered by his
praising words about her wings, her eyes and the crest on her head. At the end, she
follows him as he praises her and gets caught in his web. The little fly imparts with
the readers a lesson to not get affected by the flattery and learn from her example,
how dangerous could the repercussions of such fake praises be.
Q4. What does the poem ‘The Spider and the Fly’ tell us about flattery?
Ans: In this tragic tale of ‘The Spider and the Fly’, the poet, Mary Howitt has depicted
human weakness of being easily enticed by flattery. In the poem through her two
characters, the cunning spider and the little fly, she has advised the readers to not get
carried away by the flattery. In the poem, the cunning spider tried to lure the little fly
into his web promising her a variety of luxury, such as, a parlour that she had never
seen, a comfortable bed on which she could rest, a little mirror in which she could see
how sweet a creature she was, a stocked pantry that contained many good things to
eat. The little fly turned down all his treats and refused to go to his den. She told him
that she was aware of the dangers that he had masqueraded with his sweet talks.
However, the little fly, who at first refused all the luxuries, was unable to resist the
compliments the sly spider showered upon her. The cunning spider called her gauzy
wings like ‘pearl and silver’ and robes he praised as ‘green and purple’. He remarked
the crest on her head, and called her eyes brilliant bright as diamonds, whereas for
his own he called them dull as lead. Following the praises from the shrewd spider, the
foolish little fly got trapped first in his words, and then into his web. He had grabbed
her and took her into his den, from where she could never be seen coming out. The
foolish little fly knew everything about the consequences that she’s face if she went
inside the spider’s den, yet she followed him. Such is the power of flattery, false
praises. She didn’t pay heed to the comfort of his comfortable bed, the brilliance of his
parlour with a little mirror on the wall, and even the well stocked pantry where he had
stored nicest of food; however, she gave in to the words of flattery.

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NAME: ________________ BATCH: _ DATE: ________

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY

THE SPIDER AND THE FLY BY MARY HOWITT

Summary of The Spider and the Fly

Analysis of The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt

Q3. What moral does the story convey?

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