The Beauty of Walt Whitman's When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

In “Song of Myself” Whitman attempts to speak on behalf of the entire American population. He tries to pull the reader into a world of many possibilities. Whitman makes a

As the speaker sits in an auditorium, they observe the lecturer’s many notes, “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,” (lines 2-3). This line provides strong visual imagery of complex investigations in astronomy, and a reader can easily imagine a full lecture room with endless notes and charts which aids in providing the mind-numbing mood of the experience. Moreover, the repetitions of what are essentially synonyms in this context make these lines sound like the rambles of the astronomer, contributing to the tone. As the speaker tires of the lecture, he leaves the room and “In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, / Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars” (lines 8-9). Here Whitman again employs imagery to make the night seem appealing and

Like in many of his other poems, Whitman uses free verse in this short literary work. His free verse style in this one stanza is written without a specific pattern of rhyme or meter. Innovation flows through the lines as Whitman is unpredictable with his rhythm. In the eight lines (one stanza) of this poem, he creates an anecdotal feel by having the lines vary in length and giving variety to the stressed and unstressed syllables. For example, the first two lines stress the long beat on the third syllable with the words “heard” (line 1) and “proof” (line 2), whereas the third line stresses the fourth syllable with “shown” (line 3). Then continues to the fourth line to stress the long beat on the second syllable using a comma: “When I,” (line 4). These first four lines act as a setup while the speaker recalls listening to the astronomer’s lecture. Whitman demonstrates anaphora in the poem by having each line in this setup begin with the word “When” to illustrate to the reader that the speaker is evoking a prior experience. Whitman utilizes multiple

This semester I have learned valuable tools and techniques when it comes to writing and analyzing different types of literature. I will thoroughly explore what Whitman, Columbus and Smith meant in specific passages of a few of their literature works. Whitman’s free verse poems, “Leaves of Grass” and “Song of Myself”, seemed to be most appealing. I also found Christopher Columbus’s “Letter to Lluis de Santangel” and “Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella” to be quite intriguing about life back then. Even John Smith’s writings such as “The General Historie of Virginia” and “A Description of New England” enlightened me to what it was they saw when venturing out in the new world.

“Re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul” (Whitman). The brilliant mind behind this quote is Walt Whitman, one of the greatest and most influential poets America has ever produced. Walt was inspired by transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Although, Walt Whitman is considered the most radical out of the three. He had many radical views, but primarily on his views of the individual, religion, and education. Walt Whitman believed in a certain pedagogy, otherwise known as the method and practice of teaching, and he also had certain views of what it means to be a teacher and about learning past the years of school.

Walt Whitman’s “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” was written in 1865 and published in 1867, in the fourth edition of his collection Leaves of Grass. Throughout this poem, Whitman suggests that nature’s beauty cannot be measured by scientific explanations, mathematical equations, or taught through lectures, but that you have to go and experience it for yourself.

The repetition within the lines regarding the scientific side of astronomy illustrate the supposed lack of emotion within the scientific view. It is also significant that “when” refers to time. Just as math and science attempt to quantify the natural world, time is a construct to quantify life. Whitman continues this trend in writing “ When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them” (3). In including “to add, divide, and measure them” Whitman implicates that students of the Enlightenment are not allowed, or not able to feel or reflect, only observe and

The structure of this work plays a crucial role in its development as it helps set the mood due to the lack of rhythm and use of free verse. Whitman reflects on all aspects the astronomer displays his discoveries on nature; portraying him as a man of knowledge, not experience since he believes in facts and proof. He mentions a catalog, “the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me” (2) and “the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them” (3), used to educate the audience. As previously mentioned, the anaphora with the word “when” used by Walt Whitman sets up a dreary environment, and leads to the poem´s climax. The poet embraces one transcendentalist idea strongly emphasized on Emerson´s Nature, individualism, as the speaker leaves the lecture hall to experience nature on by

The Jarawa tribe is indigenous to India’s Andaman Islands, with a small population that has declined greatly since their beginning; approximately 55,000 years ago. This group of around four hundred people has been struggling to remain clear of the outside attention and influence that has been harming its members. Despite orders from the Indian government meant to preserve and protect the Jarawa, they are still being exploited and treated extremely poorly. The best way to change this would be to integrate the Jarawa tribe, to prevent another extinction.

He shifts the focus to what he wants by detailing all the familiar things within the city. Whitman embraces everything whether is good or bad he would not change things at all. The sudden change in the poem show acceptance for the society that he lives

poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and

Along with the use of metaphors, the form of the poem plays an important role in uncovering the views of Whitman. First and foremost, this poem was written in free verse which is a form of poetry that lacks structure. The free verse stucture of the poem is shown in the lack of form in the stanzas of the poem. Some stanzas are six lines long while others are only one, and the lines can be either concise or drawn out. The poem also lacks any apparent rhyming scheme or rhythm. Unlike Shakespearean poetry, where the foot of the poem stays the same, the lack of any apparent structure to the poem leaves the reader unable to predict what is coming next. In addition to this, at the time this poem was written, free verse was not common. In fact, Whitman may have been one of the first poets to use this form, showing that he may have been rebelling against the predominant structured form in poetry. The lack of any apparent structure guides the reader towards the conclusion that Whitman did not like structure in poetry, and can even be

Title- The song of myself sounds like a poem of self expression, and a gospel of Walt Whitman's’ self beliefs. When his optimistic outlook on life is brought into perspective, one could also conclude that the poem was about his positive and radical outlook on life, because it is a song of himself, his personal expression.

Whitman's Poem "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Rocking," is not, at first glance, an obvious love poem. Most readers would probably consider this a tragic poem about death and love lost. In spite of the fact that the poem is about intrinsically sorrowful events, or perhaps because of it, Whitman is able to capture a very unique and poignant portrayal of love. There are three major perspectives to examine how Whitman develops the theme of love in Out of the Cradle, and by examining each reoccurring theme in the poem separately, we can come to a more complete understanding of how they work together to communicate Whitman's message about love.

Whitman is known for being revolutionary for his use of free form verse in the nineteenth century. This style is evident throughout Song of Myself which aids in his descriptions and devices used to get his meaning across. His grouping of three lines per stanza for this section is common for the entirety of “Song of Myself”, which has variations of three line to occasionally five line stanzas. His freedom in his poem’s style and lack of rhyme scheme allow him to fully showcase his thoughts in a new way for this time period. An overall summary of the poem is Whitman’s pondering of himself and the world in behavior and personality to him being fully confident in himself with no existential crisis. For the first half of section 20, Whitman’s character of himself questions everything beyond the ownership of himself. He questions the integrity of other people’s identities and characters as well as ignoring social norms involving manners and religious behavior. The declaration of a lack of manners and questioning the church would have been scandalous to