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"When I heard the learned Astronomer" By Walt Whitman

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"When I heard the learned Astronomer" By Walt Whitman

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When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

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Q1: What is the poem’s tone? Which words reveal this tone? Is the poem ironic?
Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learned Astronomer" has a contemplative and reflective tone. The poem begins with the speaker attending a lecture given by an accomplished astronomer, and the tone is initially one of appreciation for the scholar's knowledge and the elegance of the scientific presentation. However, as the poem develops, the speaker becomes overwhelmed by the mathematical calculations and scientific language and feels estranged from the experience of the stars and the natural world.

Q6: What is the theme (the central idea) of this poem? Can you state it in a single sentence? Elaborate on your idea.
The theme of Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learned Astronomer" is the contrast between scientific knowledge and firsthand experience, and the significance of achieving a balance between the two.As the speaker exits the lecture classroom and goes outdoors to stare up at the sky on his own, the poem's theme is emphasized. He learns that the immediate experience of the universe's beauty and wonder is more meaningful to him than the astronomer's analytical method.

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Q2: What heavily connotative words are used? What words have unusual or special meanings? Are any words or phrases repeated? If so, why? Which words do you need to look up?

Some heavily connotative words were stars, charts, and columns. When he used words like stars or astronomer it was a relation to nature and its beauty, but when he used charts and columns, it references science and how bad it can be. This poem is about the battle between nature and science so these words can give us the feel of a true debate between 2 physical things.

Q3: What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

Throughout the poem Whitman talks of charts, diagrams, adding, dividing, and many other scientific terms. This is to draw a picture of how one person can be so focused on the scientific world and miss out on nature's beauties which were already there. It then talks about him becoming sick from thinking about this and he "rising and gliding" goes back to nature where he once again is calm.

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