When I Heard The Learn D Astronomer Rhetorical Devices

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Recommended: A little learning poem analysis

Frequently in life, one needs to roll up his or her sleeves and tinker with things in order to learn how to use them. Sometimes this leads to headaches, but eventually it leads to incorporating with one's self’s information and true learning. It is this type of experiential education that Walt Whitman seems to be urging in “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer.” In this poem, Whitman uses diction, parallel structure (more specifically anaphora), and a shifting voice to illustrate the importance of experiential learning and the power of instinct, proving that the truly developed mind is the one that seeks its own answers.
In the first stanza, Whitman uses diction to develop a tone of boredom as the speaker sits in a lecture hall, passively …show more content…

The parallel structure, more specifically anaphora, present at the beginning of each line in the first stanza is no longer present, which illustrates a newfound sense of freedom and self-reliance. Moreover, Whitman’s use of active voice such as “I wander’d” and “look’d suggests the speaker is actively engaged in the learning process, experiencing astronomy first hand by submerging himself in the “mystical moist night air” and surrounding himself with the stars. Once again, the reader experiences Whitman’s emphasis on the importance of experiential learning.
After reading “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” one can clearly see how Whitman’s use of diction, parallel structure (more specifically anaphora), and a shifting voice illustrates the importance of active learning and the power of instinct, proving that the truly developed mind is one that seeks its own answers. While learning in a classroom plays an important role in one’s education, Whitman stresses the need to get out from behind the desk and experience life in order to truly learn and fully appreciate all that life has to

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