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Walt Whitman Poem
Walt Whitman's poem I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer is a famous protest against scientific knowledge and the disenchantment it can produce in the human soul. According to Whitman, exact sciences can provide only schematic and insufficient knowledge about the universe, failing to recognize the divine mystery that pervades all things. As such, Whitman advocates for a different, more "humanistic" approach to knowledge and reality. What Whitman intends is to discourage a purely scientific reflection on reality and to prompt the discovery of the surrounding world through contemplation and empathy. The progress of science with all its branches has helped humanity move forward and has significantly contributed to the improvement of mankind's style of life. However, Whitman's admonition is an imperative: the modern man can become blinded by scientific knowledge and disdain the direct, spiritual contact with the universe: "His poem 'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer' expresses impatience with systematic observation and meticulous analysis and favors direct contact with the wonder of the night sky."(Krupp, 44) I think that Whitman's stance is extremely important for my studies and my future development as an individual. On the one hand, the poet's admonition indicates that the study of the spiritual development of humanity is equally significant and useful as the progress of technology and the exact sciences. The human spirit can not be comfortable if it becomes alienated from the true contact with its environment. Thus, in my opinion, studying the human development and the social science is a crucial endeavor for mankind. Humanity has to stay in close contact with its own spirituality and with its own nature, and thus be able to genuinely relate to the surrounding world. Exact sciences are likely to alienate the individual from his environment, if he does not maintain a keen awareness to his spirituality and his nature as a thinking, animated being.
References
Krupp, E.C. (2006) "Antagonized by poets: astronomers are crossed out when the poetic pen glides toward the stars." Sky & Telescope 111.5: 43(2).
Walt Whitman and Herman Melville "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" and "Bartleby the Scrivener" Walt Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" and Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" are set in New York City during the early years of the industrial revolution, but are markedly different in tone, theme and the perceptions and feelings of the main characters. Melville's characters exist without joy, love or hope, and merely drag themselves through a life of
Dickinson, however, approaches art and nature in a much different way. She does not attempt to assert herself or set herself up as "Amerian Poet" the way that Whitman does. Instead she wrote her poetry without ever once doing so for fame or fortune. She meditated on her relationship to her surroundings, her understanding of beauty, her admiration for truth, her appreciation of the essence of things. "The Sailor cannot
This lack of tradition is what makes Whitman seem slightly worried towards the middle of the poem. He seems adamant to remind the audience that, though this technology is amazing and beautiful in its own way, we should not allow it to eclipse the wonders of the past. Much of this poem can serve as a warning to make sure that we also bring along our poetic sensibilities as we
" And had Bucke never read any of Whitman's earlier poetry (Leaves of Grass, for example) "we might think that words could not convey greater passion" than they did in Drum-Taps (p. 171). "But now we know better," he went on. The "splendid faith" of Whitman's earlier poems is "greatly dimmed" in Drum-Taps, he insists. Bucke writes that he was told by a person "who knew the poet well, and who
In "Song of Myself," the longest and most complex of the three poems from Leaves of Grass, Whitman celebrates not only the self, but also the self with, and among others. This poem has 52 separate sections, each of them uniquely rich in imagery; theme; setting; sensory impressions, and sensuality. Section 1 of the poem, for example, freely celebrates Whitman's "Self": his essence, health, body, individuality, and joy of living,
Walt Whitman, American Author & Poet About his Life: Walt Whitman, an American poet was born on May 31, 1819 and a son of Long Island and the second son of Walter Whitman, a house builder, and Louisa Van Velsor. It was at the age of twelve Whitman began to learn the printer's trade, and become acquainted with the works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then at the age of 17,