Poem analysis

Poem Analysis

Walt Whitman 's poem is an exploration of the space between natural beauty and humanity 's feeble attempts to encapsulate meaning . Choosing the subject of an astronomer and juxtaposing that to the appearance of stars is his way of calling attention to the disparity between how we think about something as grand as the celestial heavens and how we choose to categorize and think about them

When Whitman talks about the the proofs , the figures ' his tone is actually ironic because these so-called proofs completely lack the indefinable beauty

and majesty of the stars themselves , a beauty that Whitman aligns with silence . This silence is his comment on the ways we would be better advised to understand something of such magnitude because the human idea that we take ownership over something when we are able to name it is so insufficient in terms of understanding the greater mysteries of the universe . The silence is also associated with a sense of eternity and divinity . He describes the appearance of the stars as mystical

Another irony within the poem is the applause . Although Whitman recognizes the folly of what the astronomer claims to know , the crowds are taken in by the appearance of knowledge . Whitman is thus estranged from sharing popular consensus and this estrangement lends lonesomeness to the poem that is striking . By taking a stand apart from the masses Whitman distances himself from conventional wisdom , indicating his desire to rely on an inner concept of truth over what might be popularly accepted

Some of the central images in the poem most important in determining meaning include the charts and diagrams the astronomer uses to support his lecture . These images are well-ed and seemingly precise , but they are also restrictive and unimaginative . They conjure up the idea of a prison with vertical bars that contain any uncommon understanding of the universe . His assessment of the charts and diagrams as tools to add , divide , and measure ' suggest that they do some form of violence to the subject the astronomer is discussing and most likely purports to admire . Also , he mentions the information arranged in columns Columns might also suggest the formation of soldiers , advancing in columns as they march into battle . This would mean that the astronomer is actually declaring war on the heavens . This is another irony , that the supposed lover of the thing being studied is inadvertently harming the subject that inspires his love by de-mystifying it . The astronomer is a practitioner of dissection on the wonders of the universe , and to dissect something it must first be pinned down . We have already seen how that act of pinning down is accomplished through the use of the diagrams and charts

Whitman 's emotional response is key . When he says that he became tired and sick ' it is not simply a physical of his time spent listening to the lecture . He is morally and spiritually drained by the effort of enduring such injustice inflicted against something he perceives...