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When I Heard the Learned Astronomer” by Walt Whitman
When I Heard the Learned Astronomer” by Walt Whitman
When I Heard the Learned Astronomer” by Walt Whitman
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In Walt Whitman’s 1865 poem “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,” the writer calls for a revival of romanticism midst an increasingly rationalistic environment. His strategy emphasizes rationalism's popularity and downplays the underrated beauty of romanticism. Whitman demonstrates the persuasive, powerful interest in rationalism that overwhelms society. The anaphora of "when" used for four consecutive lines in the first stanza stresses the monotony of this philosophy. In a more subtle sense, it suggests the ubiquitous multitudes that follow it. "Learn'd" and "applause in the lecture room" describe the lecturer's positive reputation and approval from the audience. "Ranged in columns before" the narrator, the information "shown", and "sitting...where
[the astronomer] lectured" explain the dominant rationalist's influence that overpowers the romanticist. The poet then displays the beauty of romanticism as a formidable opponent to rationalism. "Mystical moist night-air", "till rising and gliding", and the last iambic pentameter line, "look'd up in perfect silence at the stars", catch the reader's attention with melodious, poetic fluency. " Tired", "rising", "gliding", "time", and "myself" include the similar pronunciation as "I". The smooth rhymes please the audience's tastes, and the stress on "I" further emphasizes the charm of solitude, along with descriptions like "perfect silence". "From time to time" and "wander'd off by myself" explain the arbitrary yet unrestricted nature of romanticism. However, Walt Whitman never judges accusingly or notions that one philosophy replaces the other. To complement to the influence of rationalism, the period placed at the end of the entire poetic sentence serves to show satisfaction and completeness with romanticism; the free verse cannot be done without mentioning the either side of the spectrum.
During the late romantic period, two of history’s most profound poets, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, emerged providing a foundation for, and a transition into Modern poetry. In its original form, their poems lacked the characteristics commonly attributed to most romantic poets of the mid to late nineteenth century who tended to utilize “highly stylized verses, having formal structures, figurative language and adorned with symbols” (worksheet). Unique and “eccentric use of punctuation” as well as “irregular use of meter and rhyme” were the steppingstones for this new and innovative style of writing (worksheet). Even though these two writers rejected the traditional approach, both remained firmly dedicated to their romantic idealism of the glass of water being “half full” opposed to “half empty.” Noted for his frequent practice of catalogs and parallelism, Whitman stirred up much controversy with his first edition of “leaves of Grass” in 1855. Many critics responded negatively to the ...
Here Whitman’s persona is taking a great interest and pleasure in the mere routine and wit of this young man, who is most likely unaware of the fact he is being observed. Whitman is e...
A cold stare, and a hand on his hip, is how Walt Whitman introduced himself to his readers in 1855. The style of Whitman’s frontispiece was uncommon for its time, a man with a loose collar and a worn hat would have been found more commonly on a farm than adorning a literary scholar in the mid-nineteenth century. Whitman wanted to show that he was no better than anyone who would read his poetry. Whitman conveyed himself to his audience by showing himself as an everyday workingman; his wrinkled shirt shows that he is use to working hard for everything that he has. The stare he gives back to his audience looks as if he is examining the reader the same way they may be examining him or his work.
Very few people will contest that Walt Whitman may be one of the most important and influential writers in American literary history and conceivably the single most influential poet. However many have claimed that Whitman’s writing is so free form as evident in his 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself that it has no style. The poetic structures he employs are unconventional but reflect his very democratic ideals towards America. Although Whitman’s writing does not include a structure that can be easily outlined, masterfully his writing conforms itself to no style, other then its own universal and unrestricted technique. Even though Whitman’s work does not lend itself to the conventional form of poetry in the way his contemporaries such as Longfellow and Whittier do, it holds a deliberate structure, despite its sprawling style of free association.
Walt Whitman poem is about the marvel of astronomy. He wanted to learn about the stars. He went and heard an astronomer. He tells, “When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me.” All the data about astronomy was laid out in front of him, but this did not captivate his interest or filled his curiosity. It mad things worst. His plan to see the beauty in the stars was turned to boredom and sitting in a tiresome, lackluster lecture. He writes, “How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick.” The lecture, data, and astronomer were not the beauty he wanted to see. The visual experience is what he wanted to see. The silence and view of the stars was better for him than the lecture and data. The beauty is what he really wanted. He did not want the hard facts.
When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer is a short poem by Walt Whitman. In this poem the narrator, presumably Whitman himself, describes what happened when he attended a lecture on astronomy. One of its important themes deals with the difference between learning through teachers and text, and actually going through something on your own and experiencing it in first person. It is about the freedom to learn outside the confines of a classroom or lecture hall. The poem suggests that experiencing an event yourself and learning from it is superior to learning from an academic lecture. This is what makes this poem great as it promotes learning visually and from experience rather than being told things that have less value to you as being facts. This reminds of the transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau who believed in experiencing nature. It also represents a good example of Whitman as the poet of democracy. He wrote for everyone, not any sort of elite group. His rejection of the classroom and his grammatical imperfections in the poem can be seen as a statement against items that includ...
Can a society of learners and explorers coexist with an ecosystem that can barely stay afloat? “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth and “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman both tackle the concept of nature vs. science. While the two agree on many terms, the underlying message of each is drastically different. “Tables” is much more didactic while “Astronomer” is the story of a revelation. With both poems having Romantic themes, the two must agree on the basic notions of Romanticism, in this case, the power of nature. Yet, the two disagree on a major aspect of Romanticism, self discovery. “Tables” and “Astronomer” share the same baseline thoughts, yet still tell their own stories of Romanticism.
Walt Whitman’s poem Time to Come explores Whitman’s curiosity of what happens when people die. Rather than taking a pessimistic approach, his writing is more insightful about the experience. The title alone introduces an aspect of his purpose; to point out that dying is inevitable. With Whitman captures the reader’s attention and shares his curiosity with vivid images, sophisticated diction, and his use of metaphor and personification in Time to Come.
Washington Irving’s use of Romanticism is portrayed in his writings very clearly and boldly. Romanticism is a revolt against rationalism that affected literature and other arts, beginning in the late eighteenth century and remaining strong throughout most of the nineteenth century. Romanticism has multiple characteristics and contrasts...
*Whitman, Walt. Song of Myself. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd ed. Ed, Paul Lauter. Boston,NewYork: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Mary Shelley assumes that the ideas of reason should be measured with the common sense. She criticizes with this narration the radical rationalism that was evident in the literary pieces of her parents. Shelley’s husband also used the similar ideas in his poems, the so-called Prometheanism of the Romantic Age (Bloom 8).
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "An Important American Critic Views Whitman." Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Ed. James Woodress. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. 116-127.
Explication Through a multitude of literary devices and techniques, Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself," is one of his most famous contributions to American literature. He uses simile and metaphor, paradox, rhythm, and free verse style, to convey his struggle between the relation of the body and soul, the physical and the spiritual being. He continues to disobey all social restrictions of the romantic time period. From the beginning, Whitman begins by stating, "What I shall assume, you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you," proposing that the reader listen to him, for he possesses all of the answers to life. The setting is somewhat naturalistic, and offers an image of the speaker, relaxing, possibly sprawled out across a blanket, philosophizing about life, while in the middle of a peaceful meadow. As the poem later shifts in tone, and setting, Whitman starts to think about the answers to life he has come up with, based upon the past, and decides that the reader should hear him out, one final time, as his ideas have changed. This brings us to #44 of "Song of Myself." In section #44 of, "Song of Myself," Whitman's first stanza begins: "It's time to explain myself…let us stand up. What is known I strip away…I launch all men and women forward with me into the unknown. The clock indicates the moment…but what does eternity indicate? Eternity lies in bottomless reservoirs…its buckets are rising forever and ever, they pour and they pour and they exhale away." Whitman is simply stating that he wants to tell the purpose of his madness. The madness that Whitman expresses is that of power and self-confidence. Whitman has written this based upon his experiences in life. Through these experiences, he has grown to know certain things about life and tries to pass them down to the reader. Throughout the beginning of the poem, Whitman takes the reader by the hand and demands that he follows Whitman and his ideas, because based on his own life Whitman holds the answers to the reader's questions. But now, he asks the reader to erase everything that he has previously said - forget the past. Why don't we try something new? We have to focus on the present, not on the past, but also to focus on what we are going to experience in the future, what can we expect?
Although Whitman uses a great deal of structural ways to stress his ideas, he also uses many other ways of delivering his ideas. First of all, Whitman portrays himself as a public spokesman of the masses. The tone of the poem is a very loud, informative tone that grabs ones attention. The emphasis placed on the word “all” adds to the characterization of Whitman as a powerful speaker. Furthermore, Whitman takes part in his own poem. Participating in his own poem, Whitman moreover illustrates the connection between everything in life. Lastly, Whitman, most of all, celebrates universal brotherhood and democracy.
The Romantic Period is known as a transformative era that brought forth fresh perspectives and unique ways of thinking, flourishing through the 1800s. As a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment that hailed scientific reason and logic in Europe, Romanticism instead celebrated man’s ability to feel and express various emotions, praising aesthetics over rationality. In the preface of The Penguin Book of Romantic Poetry, this period’s focus is defined as the “valuing of emotion, of imagination, a belief in human potential taken beyond its ordinary limits” (xxiii). The artists of this period often explored their imaginations, depicting new ways of perceiving the world around them through their various forms of art. Romantic poets were famous for sharing common themes throughout their poetry. Many of these poems drew parallels regarding extensive outdoor landscapes and the individuals that inhabited these settings. The Romantic poets used vivid imagery and imagination to describe certain elements of nature and the impact these elements had on the human mind.