Cultural Influence
The opening line is one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse. Often misquoted as "Step into my parlour" or "Come into my parlour", it has become an aphorism, often used to indicate a false offer of help or friendship that is in fact a trap. The line has been used and parodied numerous times in various works of fiction.
- Music
- English Rock band The Cure make reference to the poem in their 1989 song Lullaby in which Smith whispers an adapted extract from the poem toward the end of the song.
- Heavy Metal band Heaven & Hell made reference to the poem in their song "Atom & Evil" from the album The Devil You Know. - Lines: I'm here for you, said the spider to the fly. And, Into the parlor came the spider.
- The Hutchinson Family Singers performed a version of the poem that was adapted to song by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr.
- 1965 song by The Rolling Stones — One is left wondering: who is the spider, and who is the fly?
- "Arachnitect": title song for the 2008 album by Kristen Lawrence — Rock song with a harpsichord, electric guitar and bass creating quirky spider sounds as the spider chases the fly
- Noise-rock band The Paper Chase references the poem in their song, "Said the Spider to the Fly".
- Film
- 1923 cartoon: theatrical short by Aesop Fables Studio.
- 1931 cartoon: Silly Symphonies theatrical animated short by Walt Disney Productions
- 1949 film: World War I spy mystery with a love triangle, starring Eric Portman, Guy Rolfe & Nadia Gray
- 2006 film: Animation/Family film directed by Brad Peyton
Read more about this topic: The Spider And The Fly (poem)
Famous quotes containing the words cultural and/or influence:
“The rumor of a great city goes out beyond its borders, to all the latitudes of the known earth. The city becomes an emblem in remote minds; apart from the tangible export of goods and men, it exerts its cultural instrumentality in a thousand phases.”
—In New York City, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.”
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