When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer BY WALT WHITMAN
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
Discussion:
The student attend a lecture on Astronomy then views the stars in an open firld.
The poem discusses the difference between abstract thought astronomy and physics) and the appreciation of nature and beauty through personal observation.
It could also examine the meths of observing and experiencing life to the scientist and the artist.
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.