When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer Summary & Analysis
by Walt Whitman

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The Full Text of “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

1When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

2When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

3When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

4When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

5How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

6Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

7In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

8Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Introduction

    • "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" was written by poet, teacher, and Civil War volunteer nurse Walt Whitman. Whitman first published "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" in 1865 in his poetry collection Drum-Taps. In the poem, Whitman conveys his belief in the limits of using science to understand nature. Rather, Whitman suggests, one needs to experience nature for true understanding, instead of measuring it. The poem is an example of Whitman's characteristic free verse.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Summary

    • The speaker listens to an esteemed astronomer lecture on the stars. The astronomer displays various mathematical proofs and evidence in columns to the audience in support of a scientific argument. The astronomer also displays various charts and diagrams and explains the mathematical calculations behind them. The speaker sits in the audience, who all applaud the astronomer’s lecture with great enthusiasm. Very quickly and unexplainably, the speaker finds the whole lecture unbearable. Therefore, the speaker rises and leaves the lecture room alone. Outside, it is nighttime and the air is damp. There is a magical quality to the surrounding nature. Occasionally, the speaker looks up at the beautiful stars overhead and embraces the silence of the night.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Themes

    • Theme Knowledge, Nature, and Experience

      Knowledge, Nature, and Experience

      In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” the speaker attends an astronomer’s public lecture on the stars. While the audience enjoys the astronomer’s scientific explanations and mathematical equations, the speaker finds them unbearable. Indeed, the speaker believes that there is a power and beauty in nature that cannot be measured or explained. Rather, the poem seems to suggest that one can simply experience nature itself to gain a different—perhaps even deeper—understanding of the world.

      The speaker finds the astronomer’s scientific perspective on the stars intolerable. The speaker lists the astronomer’s scientific methods of “proofs,” “figures,” “charts,” “diagrams,” “add[ition],” “divi[sion],” and other “measure[ments].” The speaker recounts the astronomer’s methods unemotionally and without figurative language, indicating the speaker’s lack of enthusiasm for the astronomer’s lecture.

      Lines 1-4 of the poem, which relate the astronomer’s lecture, are wordier than the last lines, 5-8. The wordiness of these first lines reflects the speaker’s feeling of being bombarded by astronomer’s words. Even the enthusiastic “applause” of the audience does not change the speaker’s mind. Indeed, the speaker becomes
      "unaccountabl[y]" "tired and sick." The speaker’s “unaccountable” nature stands in direct contrast and opposition to the astronomer’s attempt to measure and account for everything. That is, there are no charts or diagrams that can explain the speaker’s feelings.

      Consequently, the speaker chooses to turn away from scientific analysis and be immersed in nature instead. The speaker “ris[es] and glid[es]” out of the room in order to go outside, and describes this departure as “wander[ing] off.” These verbs all suggest a free-spirited nature to the speaker’s actions that contrasts with the rigidness of the astronomer’s lecture. Indeed, once the speaker abandons scientific analysis, the speaker gains a type of freedom. This freedom allows the speaker to leave the confines of the lecture-room and go wherever he wishes in body and mind.

      For the speaker, simply being in nature is an almost magical experience and can provide a deeper enlightenment than pure scientific study. The speaker describes his surroundings as “the mystical moist night-air.” The adjective “mystical” is used to describe the magical quality of the night around him. “[M]ystical” also has spiritual connotations. Therefore, the speaker suggests there is something spiritual and transcendent about directly experiencing nature. As the speaker looks up at the stars, there is “perfect silence.” This “silence” contrasts with the astronomer’s wordy and unbearable lecture. Moreover, this “silence” is “perfect.” Therefore, the speaker experiences perfection, and thus a transcendent understanding, in nature.

      While the natural world can be explained in scientific terms, experiencing nature directly can provide an even greater enlightenment. Although the astronomer is “learn’d,” in other words well read and knowledgeable, the poem seems to imply that all the book learning in the world isn’t a substitute for actual experience and reflection. Some things, the poem argues, cannot be explained and are all the greater for it.

    • Theme Individuality and Freedom

      Individuality and Freedom

      In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” the speaker attends an astronomer’s lecture on the stars. The astronomer is an established expert in the field, and the audience is clearly appreciative of the astronomer’s knowledge. However, the speaker alone finds the astronomer’s rigid teachings foolish and leaves the lecture-room. The poem implicitly praises this act, and as such stresses the importance of thinking for oneself and questioning accepted wisdom. Doing so, the poem seems to suggest, is necessary to gain a freedom of both spirit and mind.

      The speaker finds the astronomer’s lecture narrow-minded and intolerable, even though the astronomer is described as being “learn’d.” The adjective “learn’d” implies a sanctioned, accepted level of academic achievement, as well as a depth of knowledge. Yet the speaker is soon “sick and tired” of being lectured to. By contrast, it appears that most of the audience adores the astronomer’s lecture, lapping it up without question; there is "much applause in the lecture room."

      Despite the apparent enthusiasm of the rest of the audience, however, the speaker “wander[s] off” and leaves the lecture hall, and importantly does so "by myself"—alone. The speaker physically leaves the confines of the lecture hall for the expanse of nature outside, gaining physical freedom. This physical freedom, in turn, mirrors the speaker’s emotional and intellectual freedom. In nature, the speaker is about to reflect on the night sky "in perfect silence"—without anyone else telling the speaker what to think, or how to interpret what the speaker sees.

      This state of “perfection” further indicates the speaker’s own state of contentment and enlightenment. It suggests that the stars are in fact best studied in silence, by oneself, with no companion apart from one's own mind. As such, the poem suggests that this state of “perfect” silence and freedom often requires going against the crowd and questioning what one is taught—above all, thinking for oneself.

  • Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

    • Lines 1-2

      When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
      When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

      The first two lines of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" establishes the speaker and setting of the poem. The speaker listens to a "learn'd astronomer" who is displaying "the proofs, the figures [...] ranged in columns." Immediately, the poem sets up a contrast between the speaker, who is silently listening, and the astronomer, who is speaking and lecturing on his expertise. In this case, the astronomer is lecturing on celestial objects of the universe, specifically the stars.

      The lines, therefore, stress the highly educated and scientific nature of the astronomer. The astronomer is described as "learn'd," which indicates the astronomer's high level of education and years of study. Moreover, the astronomer has calculated "proofs" and "figures" to show the audience, requiring mathematical expertise. The astronomer displays these mathematical evidences in "columns," indicating a methodical and technical mind.

      "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is not written in any particular form. Rather, it is an example of Whitman's characteristic first-person free verse. The first line, however, is written in the stress pattern of trochaic pentameter (stressed-unstressed):

      When I | heard the | learn'd as- | trono- | mer,

      The downward, falling rhythm of trochaic meter reflects the downward progression of the speaker's mood while listening to the astronomer's lecture. Moreover, the regularity of the rhythm stresses the monotony of the lecture. The last trochee in the line is missing a syllable (this is called catalexis), ending the line on a forceful note, capturing the assertiveness of the astronomer. Additionally, in line 1, the internal slant rhyme between "heard" and learn'd" enhances the rhythm and musicality across the line.

      Line 2 does not contain such regular trochaic meter:

      When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

      However, the two instances of caesura after "proofs" and "figures" add a strong sense of rhythm to the line. The use of anaphora in the opening "When" in lines 1 and 2 also creates a rhythm through repetition. At the same time, this anaphora across the two lines further emphasizes the monotony of the setting, a monotony which will be developed in the next two lines.

    • Lines 3-4

      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,

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    • Lines 5-6

      How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
      Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

    • Lines 7-8

      In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
      Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Symbols

    • Symbol The Astronomer

      The Astronomer

      An astronomer is a scientist who studies objects outside of earth, like planets or, in the case of the poem, the stars. As such, in "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," the astronomer symbolizes scientific knowledge and humanity's desire to understand nature through the means of science.

      In the first line of the poem, the astronomer is described as "learn'd." The adjective "learn'd" signifies the astronomer's acquired knowledge through academic study. The astronomer is therefore an established authority on the subject of the stars. As an educated man of science, the astronomer has plentiful "proofs," "figures," "columns," "charts," and "diagrams" to show to his audience. The audience, in line 4, is quite enthusiastic regarding the astronomer's lecture, and there is "much applause in the lecture-room."

      The speaker, however, is "tired and sick" of the astronomer's lecture. The speaker, in fact, finds a deeper enlightenment and "perfect[ion" simply by going outside to look at the stars. The astronomer, therefore, represents what the speaker views as humanity's misguided desire to measure and understand nature through science.

    • Symbol Stars

      Stars

      Physically, stars are glowing balls of gas. However, seen from the earth, the stars represent the mystical, the spiritual, and the unknown. As such, in "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," stars symbolize the awe-inspiring natural world.

      In the first four lines, the astronomer lectures on the stars. To the astronomer, the stars are something that can be explained through "proofs," "figures," "columns," "charts," and "diagrams." Moreover, the stars can be understood by "add[ing], divid[ing], and measur[ing] them."

      However, in line 5, the speaker is "tired and sick" of the astronomer's scientific explanations of the stars. Therefore, the stars, the poem suggests, are things that cannot be fully measured or explained through science. Rather, the speaker, upon going outside and looking up at the stars, stands in a state of "perfect silence." This state of "perfect[ion]" implies that the speaker has gained a deeper enlightenment simply by experiencing the beauty of the stars rather than trying to explain or measure them. By the end of the poem, the stars therefore represent the natural world's mysticism, which is beyond human analysis and that needs to be experienced in order to be fully appreciated.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

    • Imagery

      Imagery is essential in "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." In particular, Whitman uses visual and auditory imagery to contrast the lecture room of the first half of the poem with the great outdoors of the second half. Consequently, by highlighting the contrast, Whitman suggests the preferability of the great outdoors over the lecture room, along with each setting's associated philosophies.

      The auditory imagery (i.e. the things the speaker hears) highlights the contrast between the unbearable noisiness of the lecture room and the peaceful silence of the great outdoors. In lines 1 and 4 the speaker listens to the astronomer's lecture. Moreover, in line 4, the imagery highlights that there is "much applause" in the room. The noise of the astronomer's wordy lecture builds up to this thunderous applause and is, consequently, too noisy for the speaker to take.

      In contrast, the imagery of the second half of the poem highlights the peace and quiet of the outdoors. In line 6, the speaker departs the lecture room, leaving such a noisy setting. Additionally, the speaker departs alone; thus, no one talks to or around the speaker. Moreover, the last line of the poem stresses the "perfect silence" of nature. As the adjective "perfect" is attached to the idea of "silence," the poem makes clear its preference for the "silence" and peace of the outdoors.

      The visual imagery of the poem also highlights the speaker's preference for the great outdoors. Lines 2 and 3 are filled with scientific and mathematical imagery of "proofs," "figures," "columns," "charts," and "diagrams." These images are presented in a list-like manner, highlighting the dull monotony of the astronomer's lecture. In contrast, the latter half of the poem that describes the great outdoors is filled with playful, almost fairy-tale like imagery. In line 6, the speaker, for example "ris[es] and glid[es]" out of the lecture room. The act of "rising and gliding" is associated with ethereal figures such as fairies or angels, as it is a far more graceful act than a lumbering walk. Therefore, simply by leaving the lecture room, the speaker gains a quality of etherealness.

      In a similar vein in line 7, the poem uses imagery to describe the "mystical" quality of the surroundings, which are filled with "moist night-air." Additionally, the last line ends on an image of the "stars." Consequently, the imagery of the last four lines emphasizes the magical—almost divine—quality of the outdoors. The poem, thus, clearly suggests that nature contains peace and divinity that cannot be found within manmade institutions.

    • Repetition

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    • Caesura

    • Alliteration

    • Consonance

    • Assonance

    • Asyndeton

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Vocabulary

    Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

    • Learn'd
    • Astronomer
    • Proofs
    • Ranged
    • Unaccountable
    • Wander'd
    • Look'd
    Learn'd
    • A contraction of "learned," meaning well read and knowledgeable through study; scholarly. In the poem, the astronomer is highly educated and knowledgeable.

  • Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

    • Form

      "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is not written in any particular form, meter, or rhyme scheme, but rather in free verse. Indeed, Whitman is often described as the "father of free verse," as his poems popularized free verse for English-language audiences. Like much of Whitman's work, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is written in first person.

      Although the poem does not follow any particular form, structurally it is an octave that can be divided into two sections of four lines each. All of the lines are end-stopped, as is typical of Whitman. The two sections are similar to quatrains, but without stanza breaks. Whitman clearly distinguishes the first four lines of the poem from the latter four lines through literary devices and content. The first four lines all begin with the word "When," an example of anaphora. This repetitive and monotonous structure does not occur in the last four lines. Additionally, the first four lines are much lengthier in general than the last four. Moreover, the first half is filled with technical language describing scientific and mathematical terms, whereas the second half is more imagistic.

      The setting of the first half of the poem is located inside a "lecture-room," whereas the setting of the second half of the poem is located outside beneath the stars. Therefore, repetition, monotony, and verbosity are associated with the "lecture-room," while dynamism, variation, and peace are associated with the natural outdoors. The dry technicality of the language in the first half highlights the beauty of the language in the second half of the poem. Therefore, although Whitman devotes an equal number of lines to both settings, the poem clearly prizes the natural setting through the use of vivid and beautiful imagery in the second half of the poem. The form of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" thus emphasizes the poet's preference for experiencing, rather than scientifically analyzing, nature.

    • Meter

      "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is written in free verse, meaning it does not follow a strict meter or rhyme scheme. This is typical of Whitman's style, as he has sometimes been called the "father of free verse." The lack of restrictions of form reflect the speaker's freely thinking mind and freely moving body throughout the poem.

      Nevertheless, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" does contain occasional moments of regular meter despite the larger lack of meter. In these instances, the meter of the poem mirrors the speaker's experience and, therefore, allows readers to empathize more closely with the speaker's experience.

      Take, for example, the first line of the poem, which is written in the stress pattern of trochaic pentameter (stressed-unstressed):

      When I | heard the | learn'd as-| trono- | mer,

      The falling rhythm of trochaic meter reflects the speaker's falling mood while attending the astronomer's lecture. Indeed, the speaker soon feels "tired and sick" of the lecture, finding the astronomer's scientific explanations of nature unbearable and shortsighted. Additionally, the regularity of the rhythm reflects the monotony of the astronomer's lecture in the speaker's mind. The last foot of the line is missing a syllable (a device called catalexis), ending the line on a stressed note and suggesting the oppressiveness of the lecture.

      Other lines in the poem, such as line 3, are written in the unstressed-stressed pattern of iambic meter:

      When I | was shown | the charts | and di- | agrams, | to add, | divide, | and mea- | sure them,

      The switch to the rising rhythm of iambic meter reflects the speaker's rising resolve to leave the lecture room. The rising rhythm also predicts the speaker's rising mood after heading outside and being surrounded by nature.

      The last line is also written in iambic meter and directly contrasts with the trochaic meter of the first line:

      Look'd up | in per- | fect si- | lence at | the stars.

      This rising rhythm reflects the speaker's rising mood, in contrast with the speaker's negative mood in the first line. Consequently, the meter of the poem emphasizes the speaker's progressive change in mood from the beginning of the poem to the end.

    • Rhyme Scheme

      "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is written in free verse and therefore does not follow any strict meter or rhyme scheme. The lack of formal restriction is typical of Whitman's work and, in this case, reflects the speaker's free-spirited mindset in the poem.

      However, although the poem does not contain any end rhymes, the poem does contain several instances of internal half rhymes. These instances of internal rhyme enhance the musicality of the poem and highlight certain words and images.

      In line 1, for example, the half rhyme between "heard" and "learn'd" highlights both the role of the speaker as an audience member listening to the lecture and the highly-educated background of the astronomer. Additionally, as the poem goes on to show the limits of the astronomer's scientific insight, the singsong quality of the internal rhyme adds a sardonic tone to the adjective "learn'd."

      In line 6, the internal rhyme between "rising "and "gliding" emphasizes the musical beauty of the language and, thus, the beauty of the speaker's movements while leaving the lecture-room. The internal rhyme, therefore, highlights the nuances of the poem's attitudes toward the speaker and the astronomer.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Speaker

    • The speaker of the poem is unnamed and genderless. One might argue that Whitman himself is the speaker, but this is by no means definite. Regardless, the speaker cannot relate to scientific explanations of nature. Indeed, the speaker finds science inadequate to explain the magic of nature. The speaker prefers experiencing nature in person rather than listening to an astronomer's lecture.

      Consequently, in line 6, the speaker walks out of the lecture-room alone, despite the fact that everyone else enjoys the lecture. This act suggests the speaker feels a strong sense of individuality and is not afraid to go against the crowd to embrace their individuality. For the speaker, experiencing nature is a "mystical" experience and evokes a feeling of "perfect[ion]" and enlightenment that no science can explain.

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” Setting

    • The setting of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" changes as the poem progresses. In the first half of the poem, the setting is a lecture room where an astronomer is lecturing to an audience on the subject of the stars. The speaker, however, soon leaves this lecture room and goes outside. It is nighttime and the air is slightly damp. The natural world is filled with a "perfect silence." Overhead, stars shine beautifully in the sky.

      While the poem could be seen as specifically set during the mid 19th century when it was written, the poem can describe any time in which astronomy and scientific methods are used to explain the natural world.

  • Literary and Historical Context of “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”

      Literary Context

      Whitman first published "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" in 1865 in his poetry collection Drum-Taps. The poem appeared two years later in the fourth edition of Leaves of Grass, the most celebrated collection of Whitman's career. "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" shares many characteristics, both thematically and stylistically, with other poems in Leaves of Grass. Like most of the other poems in Leaves of Grass, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is written in first-person free verse. As in "Song of Myself," there is a joyousness and freedom to the formlessness of verse in "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."

      Many of the poems in Leaves of Grass also praise the individual and individuality, along with the universality of nature. "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is no different, as it is a reflection on the power of experiencing nature first hand in order to gain a deeper, transcendent understanding of it. One experiences nature on an individual level. However, through this individual connection, one gains access to a greater universality in experience.

      Whitman's philosophy and work was heavily influenced by the Transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism values the individual experience over institutional knowledge. Thus, the speaker of "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" very much believes in the power of subjective experience over scientific evidence. Additionally, for Transcendentalists, nature must be treasured, protected, and experienced in person. Moreover, there is a divine, transcendental, or "mystical" quality to nature.

      As the so-called "father of free verse," Whitman's poetry influenced generations of writers in American that followed him. His breaking away from traditional forms influenced Modernists like Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. Moreover, Whitman's observant, first-person speakers who exalt mystical experience greatly influenced Beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg.

      Historical Context

      In the 1830s, Transcendentalism was a philosophical and social movement which concerned itself with questions of morality. Transcendentalists believed in the inherent goodness of the individual, the divinity of nature, and the necessity of turning away from the excesses of industrialization.

      Three decades later in 1865, when Whitman first published "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," the American Civil War finally came to an end. The Civil War was one of the earliest wars which incorporated industrial weaponry, due to the advancements in machinery and the Industrial Revolution. One of the most destructive wars in American history, the Civil War was fought primarily over the moral issue of the institution of slavery.

      For Whitman, the issues the Transcendentalists raised—that later came to a head during the Civil War—were ones he wished to interrogate in his own work. Like other writers and artists during this time, Whitman was interested in exploring the goodness and morality possible in individuals and suspicious of institutional establishments. Moreover, Whitman and other writers deeply valued the beauty, power, and divinity of nature during a time when industrial factories and waste were polluting the landscape. Whitman revered the "mystical" quality and "perfect[ion]" of nature and treasured the peace and enlightenment it could bring individuals.

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