Whitman's “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer”

Whitman's “When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer”

Introduction

“When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer,” is a short masterpiece of Whitman. The poem sketches the sphere of highly packed bookish environment in which a great learner astronomer delivers his knowledge to audience. The entire environment was so appealing and informative for the audience regarding astronomy but in that sphere, Whitman could not concentrate on the information providing by astronomer as he found more appeal in natural world. The poem demonstrates the significance of natural world in comparison to scientific facts and figures. Book learning cannot capture the attention ...