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Whitman's Ideas Of Nature In Song Of Myself
Whitman's Ideas Of Nature In Song Of Myself
Whitman's Ideas Of Nature In Song Of Myself
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What's the point of sitting in a lecture room when you can go and experience? it In the poem “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer”, Whitman, the writer, discusses why lectures and charts are sickening and that one can simply look up and enjoy the stars or the wonders of space. As used in his poem he states “How soon unaccountable I became sick and tired”,(line 6), he says this to explain that lectures bore him. Asimov's opinion on the universe and science is that there's so much to be seen and that it can only be found from scientific tools. He says this by stating, “...and most of it in the last 25 years”. Asimov is technically saying that new technologies helped find the endless system of the universe. Also, his essay shows nothing about …show more content…
For one Whitman explains in his poem that lectures can be boring and one might want to see the world without using tools such as telescopes. Online 9 of Whitman's poem “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, Whitman writes, “Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars”. Whitman was looking up at the stars and taking in information from them rather than sitting in a lecture room. Asimov thinks sitting in a lecture room can be better, while Whitman would rather go into nature and learn by actually seeing it with his eyes. Enjoying nature with your own eye is way more valuable than sitting in a classroom, not even experiencing the outdoors. Seeing something can be way more valuable, that's where Whitman has it right, stating in his poem that lectures can be boring. In comparison to Asimov, he only sees how big the universe is and doesn't take the time to actually observe it like Whitman. In Asimov's essay, he talks everything about space, such as the stars and how big they can be. Whitman never got the chance to see the endless universe, he just knew what he could see with his eye and no scientific tools. So to Whitman, the universe was huge but so
Edmundson was considered one of the “interesting” teachers because of the fact he would tell jokes in order to keep the students interested, since it was the one way he figured worked; however, he did not “teach to amuse…or for that matter, to be merely interesting” (Edmundson, Greene-Lidinsky 390). College students get to pick their professors and they have to ability to find out if the professor is to their liking, or else they can just drop the class and/or find a better-suited professor. Edmundson felt as though the student’s “passion seems to be spent,” and that “university culture” is becoming more and more “devoted to consumption and entertainment” (Edmundson, Greene-Lidinsky 391). Furthermore, colleges make it even worse due to the fact that they make the campuses beautiful in order to attract students to apply, so students attend those campuses imagining that the classes will be just as
Through this same lens, I chose to take classes that helped diversify what I learned so I always stayed interested and never found class tedious, just as Curious George would in his adventures. Outside of school, I keep myself in check by traveling and trying new things because on top of my natural curiosity, I am a true explorer. Like George, I love the enjoyment of participating in what life has to offer, even though it may cause mischief along the way. After all, satisfying curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in
Whitman’s beliefs on human equality are most commonly viewed in his writings, such as Leaves of Grass. His display does not stop there though, he also broadcasted it through his everyday life. Through these outlets he expressed his belief that humans, despite their race, gender and sexuality, were all equal and valuable to the society.
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.
Enlightenment is illustrated by both poets as something beyond explanation, beyond the normal, physical world. Whitman especially recognizes this. “I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and never will be measured” (Whitman 46, 452). The enlightened mind can see beyond what is visible. “High, high from the summit of the peak, / Whatever way I look, no limit in sight!” (Hanshan 986)....
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
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...
In order to understand any comparison of the two author's one must first read and comprehend that Emerson's writing are clearly an instruction manual that Whitman adopts in order to become an outstanding poet. Emerson believes we must,
Lindfors, Berndt. "Whitman's 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.'" Walt Whitman Review 10 (1964): 19-21.
... a much bigger picture such as a lawn. Whitman also shows the each of our self-identities are vital to the universal identities when he writes about growing among different races and groups. Again, he is telling us that even though we are our own entire person, we are equal. No man is greater than anyone else. Whitman shows his transcendentalism side here because to come to this conclusion that grass is so much more than just grass, he had to look deeper than his senses or his logical knowledge of grass. Sight, taste, touch, smell, or sound couldn’t have helped him answer the boy’s question. Taking classes on the importance of grass could not have accomplished this either. Whitman shows here that a person must look inside themselves and see what their soul is telling them because at times, it can provide infinitely more wisdom than a scholar or a book ever could.
In “I Sit and Look Out” Walt Whitman shows the carelessness in the absence of
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.
Nature was an important concept that Whitman used to convince people that there were more important things to life than class structure. He used nature to connect us all, and encourage people to become less materialistic and more appreciative of life itself. There are many themes in Emily Dickenson’s poem that are very reminiscent of Whitman’s popular themes. Although there were some consistency with the themes Whitman’s used in his own work, there were still a lot of ideas Whitman would not have agreed with. The poem starts off with something Whitman would have unanimously disagreed with.