what are the stratergies applied by the spider in the spider and the fly poem?plz tell the answer
Answers
The Spider And The Fly By Mary Howitt: Poem Analysis
By S. Sharon Aranha / Mary Botham Howitt
The Spider and the Fly: An Introduction
Do you listen to your ‘spider sense’? That tingling instinct warning you when something doesn’t seem quite right. It’s a feeling not easily explained, but worth regarding. Especially in a world where not everything is what it looks like. More often than not, ignoring those stay-safe instincts and good common sense doesn’t end well.
Now just because this is a dark topic, doesn’t mean that our approach has to be dark too. There’s a lot of interesting work in the form of satires, black comedies, observational comedies and other genres that allow us to look at serious things in life through not-so-serious eyes. Humor used like this is like bitter medicine taken with sugar – helps things go down easier. Today’s piece, ‘The Spider and the Fly’ is a funny little serious piece in this vein. The poem takes us through a spider’s ultimately successful attempts in enticing a fly into its web. Now, if only that fly would have kept listening to her ‘spider sense’…
Answer:
The Spider and the Fly is a cautionary fable that highlights the disastrous consequences of flattery on gullible and naïve minds. Originally meant as a lesson for children, The Spider and the Fly has gained universal popularity due to its continued relevance to this period. 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. Curiosity might have killed the cat but it is flattery which finishes off the fly.
The spider initially tries to tickle the fly’s curiosity by describing the sights in his ‘parlour’. He then offers a resting place for the “weary” fly, followed by an offer of delicious food. Ultimately, it is the lethal dose of praise and flattery which kills the winged narcissist.