In the poem, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman, the main character disengages himself from the lecture a very intelligent astronomer is teaching. His thoughts and feelings drift off as the structured lesson takes place. He realizes quickly that he is unsatisfied learning through charts and diagrams. He decides to leave and begins to observe the outdoors. The starry night encourages him to learn by discovering what is real and not an image. The main character in the poem acknowledges that experiencing the outdoors and exploring nature leads to more knowledge than a presentation in a lecture room. The speaker in the poem decides to attend a well known astronomer’s lecture one day, but quickly regrets his decision. The teacher begins the presentation in a very organized matter. Although all the people in the lecture room admire and applaud the astronomer, the main character does not feel the same way. He believes that the astronomer is directing his attention to him by setting up his presentation towards him and saying, “When the proofs, the figures, were ranged before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them” (2-3). The main character soon realizes that the teacher’s systematic method of lecturing makes him want to experience the …show more content…
He is unhappy with the method of teaching and wants to have a more profound understanding of the science of astronomy. He knows that to gain more wisdom, he must go out and experience it for himself. As soon as he gets outside, he feels liberated. Almost like a dream, the speaker says “till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself” (6). He spiritualizes the nature of the air and the silence of the outdoors. He looks up at the stars and recognizes that he made the proper decision. He romanticizes the night sky and begins his journey to be a knowledgable and experienced astronomer, not just a learn’d
Through the course of this poem the speaker discovers many things. Some discoveries made are physical while others are mental and emotional. On a physical level the speaker discovers a book, a new author and the power
The poem is a combination of beauty and poignancy. It is a discovery in a trajectory path of rise and fall of human values and modernity. She is a sole traveler, a traveler apart in a literary romp afresh, tracing the thinning line of time and action.
“The power of imagination makes us infinite.” (John Muir). Both John Muir and William Wordsworth demonstrate this through their use of language as they describe nature scenes. John Muir studies nature and in his essay about locating the Calypso Borealis he uses scientific descriptions to grab his reader’s attention and to portray his excitement at finding the rare flower. William Wordsworth on the other hand shows his appreciation for the beauty of nature and its effect on a person’s emotions in the vivid visual descriptions that he gives of the daffodils in his poem ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.’ Wordsworth with his appreciation of beauty and Muir through scientific descriptions provide an indication of the influence that nature has had on them as they capture their reader’s attention both emotionally and visually through their personal and unique use of tone, diction, syntax and vocabulary.
I was born with an inherent fascination for all things celestial. Ever since I was young, I have been staring at the night sky trying to find constellations, or using my juvenile imagination to create my own. My efforts to find, view, and mentally catalogue everything the heavenly bodies have to offer has led me to employ some over-the-top measures, but the most extreme of them all might be the night I stayed awake through the wee hours of the morning to catch a glimpse of a meteor shower. Over the course of an entire year, the memory of this stupefying event is still as lucent and vivid as it was that very night so long ago.
Epiphany in Astronomer’s Wife, When I consider how my light is spent and Everything That Rises Must Converge
Although both “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth and “To David, About His Education” by Howard Nemerov advocate the theme of how all of life cannot be contained within pages of traditional education, they hold significant differences in structure, imagery, and tone. Whether it is a focus on nature imagery or an intelligent criticism shrouded in capricious tones, both Wordsworth and Nemerov in their respective poems ironically advocate how education goes beyond the world of literary works. Despite the wonders poets work in the lives of scholars and students alike, the realms of old dusty hardcovers can only capture a few fragments of the brilliance of life.
Just as the surroundings would seem different through color slides, he asks the readers to see the world from diverse viewpoints while reading and writing poems. Moreover, by listening to the poem’s hive, dropping a mouse, and walking inside its room, Collins encourages readers to discover the concealed depth of poetry. He comments that the readers should enjoy the poem in a way they would like to water ski.... ... middle of paper ... ...
... him due to our own biases. Instead, we should contribute more time and effort to observe carefully before judging someone. Moreover, it also applies to the secondary school’s education system that students only learn through repeatedly memorizing by heart, without thorough understanding. In fact, this poem sheds some light on how we see things; thus, interpret things, introducing the importance of experience.” (Yau)
"Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink, and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. I was delighted when I first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me, and the boundaries of the radient roof of light which canopied me. Sometimes I tried to imitate the pleasant sounds of the birds, but was unable. Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me back into silence."
In addition, the poem has a climax. The stanzas are arranged in such a way that help to increase the importance within each line. The poet starts with talking about the lesson as an inconsiderable one and ends the poem with such strong words: “This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered but it was one place. And you weren’t here.” (Wayman, 38) The poem has no rhyme and is written in prose that brings it closer to an ordinary speech. Somehow, the poem can be seen in a form of a dialogue between a teacher and a
Since the ancient Roman and Greek period, satirical poems have earned their respect by, to some degree, shaping the humans we have become today. They aim to show us our fault and persuade us to modify and advance our behaviour and nature. One major poem, which highlights this concept, is the 'Hymn Of The Scientific Farmer' by Clive Sansom. Clive Samson, in his poem called the 'Hymn Of The Scientific Farmer,' demonstrates to us his knowledge and awarenes... ... middle of paper ... ...
Some believe that life follows a timeline and everyone’s lives have been planned out. Cummings’ “since feeling is first” and Walt Whitman’s “When I heard the learn’d astronomer” show us that life is too short to worry and that we should follow our own life paths. Cummings’ poem suggests that those who concern about living life in order, will not truly enjoy things in life as simple as a kiss. Whiteman’s poem shows that the speaker learns that looking past what the astronomer teaches and the structure of learning, he can find beauty in what he loves. Though “since feeling is first” by E.E. Cummings and Walt Whitman’s “When I heard the learn’d astronomer” have few differences, the two poems similarly demonstrate that life should not be lived by a specific structure through poetic techniques such as the use of
... become a poet. I am not particularly keen on poetry, but I do like Whitman's poetry because it is so beautiful..The boy, the speaker, is transformed, and then translates his experiences in nature into a language the reader can understand. What is special about the boy, why he can become "The Poet" is the risks he takes. He's not only alone, which seems to be necessary in order to be a great Poet, but also "bareheaded, barefoot," to the natural elements. He braves both body and soul to the wind and the sea, the sand with its briers and cutting grasses. Both the poet and the bird "must be still, be still to listen," and wait for the mate, the muse, the poem, the aria to come.We see the formation of the poet and we see him discover his poetic power. Music, the aria, in particular is central to the poem. Poetry and music are combined.I would love to hear this poem aloud.
It is this moment of recollection that he wonders about the contrast between the world of shadows and the world of the Ideal. It is in this moment of wonder that man struggles to reach the world of Forms through the use of reason. Anything that does not serve reason is the enemy of man. Given this, it is only logical that poetry should be eradicated from society. Poetry shifts man’s focus away from reason by presenting man with imitations of objects from the concrete world.
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth is about the poet’s mental journey in nature where he remembers the daffodils that give him joy when he is lonely and bored. The poet is overwhelmed by nature’s beauty where he thought of it while lying alone on his couch. The poem shows the relationship between nature and the poet, and how nature’s motion and beauty influences the poet’s feelings and behaviors for the good. Moreover, the process that the speaker goes through is recollected that shows that he isolated from society, and is mentally in nature while he is physically lying on his couch. Therefore, William Wordsworth uses figurative language and syntax and form throughout the poem to express to the readers the peace and beauty of nature, and to symbolize the adventures that occurred in his mental journey.