Poetry Response #2 When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer

BY WALT WHITMAN 1819–1892

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.

Response: 

The title of this poem has an I within it. I’s in poems indicate the specific point of view the poem is told by; in addition, I would paraphrase the title to “When I heard the Astronomer who learned.” My best attempt to paraphrase the poem: When I heard the astronomer who learned, proofs, figures, arranged in columns in front of me, shown charts and diagrams, adding, dividing, and measurements, I heard the astronomer lecture, there was a lot of clapping in the room, I got annoyed fast, left and wandered around, from time to time, I looked up at the perfectly silent starts. A few connotations presented in the poem are imagery, irony, and some personification.

There is imagery because we can somehow see the proofs, figured, column, charts, diagrams, addition, subtraction, division, measurements, and hear the applause coming from the room. There is also the vivid description of the “mystical moist night-air” and the perfectly silent stars. I noticed a slight case of situation based irony where the man preferred to learn and view the stars himself rather than the astronomers mathematical representations. Interestingly, there was personification in how the stars were silent, because stars cannot speak. Therefore, a star can't be “silent”. The speaker appears very annoyed by and detached from the astronomer who is speaking at the conference. However, he/she is appreciative towards the stars in the sky. The audience i the lecture room may have an approving tone towards the astronaut since they are clapping. So their tone is shown in action rather than words. In this poem, the poet may have a very introspective tone. Perhaps he is even respectful towards the observer, and unconcerned by the astronomer.

From the point where the speaker says he hears the astronomer to the part where the speaker becomes tired and sick may be an interesting shift to take a glance at. The speaker isn't completely interested at the beginning of the poem, but we certainly know he isn't midway through the poem. Overall, the poem reflects the topic of experiencing through data versus real sight. The theme could be that beauty in the world should not be quantified; instead, beauty should simply be enjoyed.