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A little learning poem analysis
Writing style of walt whitman
Diction in poetry analysis
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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
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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
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
McCandless sets out for Alaska after he graduates high school and before he begins college. He brings only a few items with him, and eventually purges himself of more belongings. Chris McCandless burned his money, concealed his car, and buried his license and rifle. These actions can lead one to infer that McCandless was self-reliant and believed that he could fend for himself in Alaska. One can connect these deeds to “When I Head the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walk Whitman, on page 446, for a multitude of reasons. One can see that the peom by Whitman relates to the life of McCandless because in the first five stanzas, the narrator of the piece is trying to learn about astronomy from a lecture, but soon realizes how sick and tired the mundanity of the lecture is, and becomes self-reliant and intructs themself by actually looking at the stars at
In " When I Heard The Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman, The writer of the peom describes listening to a astronomer during a lecture. He is given proof, figures, and columns presented to him as well as charts and diagrams. Thw writer is has to analyze them mathematically. At the end of the the lecture, everyone applauds the astronomer exept the writer. The writer on the other hand sits back during the lecture, sick and tired. When the writer leaves, he randomly looks into the sky and understands
Unfortunately, there are many people in today’s society that believe the only way to learn is to sit in a desk and have someone spell out the lesson and what you are supposed to learn from it. However, in order for us to get the most out of the short time we have on this earth, that simply is not the case. There will never be a moment when we cannot learn something new. You may be watching the sunset and it will dawn on you that sometimes endings are beautiful, or while making cookies you may understand just how much you love someone. While standing at the edge of the world, you can come to learn that sometimes the most valuable aspects of life cannot be bought, or even captured. There should never be a day where our lives go by and we are able to lay our head down at night and think to ourselves that we are satisfied with what we know. Whitman supports this belief full heartedly and it is present in his “Song #46” as he composes, “And I said to my spirit When we become the enfolders of those orbs, and the pleasure and knowledge of every thing in them, shall we be fill’d and satisfied then? And my spirit said No, we but level that lift to pass and continue beyond.” Whitman points out that in life there will be no contemptment. If contemptment ever becomes the case, then it is vital for you to take actions into your own hand to chase after the rest of life you have yet to see. Travel the world to learn what you could not learn in your homeland. With this adventure, you surely shall never be satisfied. Whitman also writes in “Song #46”, “Shoulder your duds dear son, and I will mine, and let us hasten forth, wonderful cities and free nations we shall fetch as we go.” To add onto Whitman’s thoughts of never confining the walls of education to simply the
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...
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.
The title, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, helped me understand the poem. It states the inciting event of the poem – listening to the astronomy lecture. In the poem, the main character dislikes listening to the lecture, but does enjoy going out and observing the stars himself. The message of the poem is how learning for the sake of academia may not be as enjoyable as learning for the sake of learning.
“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” Whitman also revisits his idea about what happens to people when we die and how we go away and all end up back in the same place. When Whitman gets old and as he dies, he says “I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun”. He also shows how even though he seems dead he really isn’t, “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.” Whitman says that if you're missing someone, search somewhere else because they always “stop somewhere waiting for
Whitman believes that poetry should be expressed through speaking instead of writing; therefore, he frequently uses parallelism to integrate a melodious and musical quality that ultimately adds to the speaking power of the poem. In stanza two, Whitman starts each sentence with a similar beginning: " O powerful western star! O shades of night- O moody, tearful night!" (7-8). The repetition of "O" and utilization of anaphora creates a powerful, musical quality that leaves an impact on us when we hear the words spoken aloud. Another example of Whitman's use of parallelism to increase the harmonious quality is in stanza sixteen when he comments, "Passing the visions, passing the night, passing, unloosing the hold of my comrades' hands, passing the song of the hermit bird and tallying song of my soul" (185-187). Whitman's repetitive use of "passing" creates a dragging sensation of the time going by and everything "passing" him while he is in a daze. Not only does Whitman give the impression of time "passing" with his use of repetition, but also strengthens the cadence of the poem.
Lindfors, Berndt. "Whitman's 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.'" Walt Whitman Review 10 (1964): 19-21.
In “On the Beach at Night Alone,” Walt Whitman develops the idea that everyone has a connection with everything else, including nature. Whitman uses a variety of writing techniques to get his point across. First, the repetition and parallel structure that his poems contain reinforce the connection between everything in nature. The usage of “All” 11 times emphasizes the inclusion of everything in the universe. The sentence structure remains the same throughout the poem, without any drastic change; however, the length of the lines in the poem vary. In addition, Whitman’s’ extravagance with his words further illustrates his idea of the Over-Soul. For example, “A vast similitude interlocks all” (4) shows his verbose nature. Whitman does not do directly to the point, but gives every little detail. Most importantly, Whitman’s’ use of catalogues stands as the most recognizable Whitman characteristic that illustrates his beliefs. These long lists that he uses set the mood of the poem. “All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,” (5) shows the idea that everything is connected in nature. Similarly, “All nations, colors, barbarisms, civilizations languages.” (10) furthermore emphasize Whitman’s belief in the Over-Soul.
As Whitman, the specific individual, melts away into the abstract, “Song of Myself” explores the possibilities for communion between individuals. Whitman addresses the reader in a particularly direct manner. He integrates his reader into the poem, and is freed of the constraints of poetic principle and social etiquette. The poem presents entire body lounging on the ground, leaning and idling. Whitman deliberately conflates natural world and poetical world. “Song of Myself” goes beyond the boundaries of Transcendentalism in the relationship of the physical and spiritual, individual and universal. The self that Whitman cheerily sings and celebrates substantiates a ‘uniform hieroglyphic’: suggestive, multiform, and awash with inconsistency. “It is as much a physical presence as a projected spiritual possibility” (Jason 2). Even as it blatantly and fervently expresses Whitman’s faith in evolution (and therefore in the necessary indivisibility of self-reliance), “Song of Myself” also conveys a separation with the “self,” the poet himself, and the co...
Walt Whitman used free verse in “Song of Myself” in order to connect with the common man and his American readers. In this first person narrative, Whitman deconstructs the “self” into many different sections that all are a part of the celebration of the individual. Some of the topics he breaks the “self” into are self- identity, and human exploration (including the human body and sexuality). In the poem, Whitman uses a speaker to exclaim that for individuals to grow they must discover themselves spiritually, physically, and mentally. The speaker in the poem
... 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 observed that the style and the subject matter of this particular poem represent a great number of sensational issues revolving around the poet’s life. It is peculiar that these are portrayed in a poetic work void of any specific poetic form; where the poem’s stanzas are take diverse arrangements in the different sections. This indicates the absoluteness with which the poet embraces the free verse style of poetry, which Shamsur Rahman describes as a style in which the poem is free from the rhythm that is usually imposed through prefixed meters and rhymes (Rahman 132). Whitman’s poem has an uneven number of sections, and each section is characterized by lines of uneven length....