“Spider’s web, wider:
In barn’s early morning,
Illumined in doorway, a
Shining silk grid.
Charlotte— no starlet;
True friend and good writer—
A heroine’s artistry
Spotlights ‘some pig.’ ”
The 11 April 2024 Twitter poem was part of my celebration of National Library Week, and it highlighted E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web.
Interestingly, I initially thought of this week’s book-themed poems as distinct from the science-themed verse I generally write. However, White’s prose addresses and alludes to many scientific principles, especially in his detailed discussions of Charlotte A. Cavatica.
As I’m sure many people could say, I first encountered this story many years ago, as one of my first “chapter books” in school. I have appreciated knowing E. B. White’s name for decades since, finding his writing invariably reassuring in challenging times.
“Spider’s web, wider…”
This poem goes in circles a bit, rather than telling a story linearly, but that seems quite appropriate. Here, the first line is the one that most directly acknowledges the end of the story.
The meaning of the book’s title expands on several levels: the spider Charlotte weaves words into her web to catalyze a larger plot and save the life of her friend, the pig Wilbur. As the chapters progress, he is celebrated with many of her creative descriptors, including “TERRIFIC,” “RADIANT,” and “HUMBLE.”
(Metaphorically, moreover, it would be tough to imagine a library or school that does not recognize this story’s widening influence over time, for beginning readers.)
“In barn’s early morning, /
Illumined in doorway, a /
Shining silk grid.”
Most of the story occurs in the Zuckerman family’s barn, where Wilbur meets Charlotte for the first time.
White acknowledges the sublime in the familiar, throughout his book. One such passage describes the web itself: “On foggy mornings, Charlotte’s web was truly a thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like a delicate veil.”
When I saw this web last autumn, decades after first encountering the book, those words still came immediately to mind.
“Charlotte— no starlet; /
True friend and good writer— /
A heroine’s artistry /
Spotlights ‘some pig.’”
Charlotte is the title character of this story, but “no starlet”; her work in supporting protagonist Wilbur stays behind the scenes.
In the novel’s famous closing lines, White writes: “Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”
The last two lines loop back to a happier part of the story, as Charlotte begins her artistic quest to save Wilbur: weaving her initial accolade, “SOME PIG,” into her web; drawing the attention of the local community; ultimately ensuring Wilbur’s newfound fame will mean his long life on the farm.
Chemphasis 