"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," I listened elsewhere

This poem, by Walt Whitman (one of my favorite poets), is a blurred and generalized reflection of--or inspiration for--Billy Collins' "Introduction to Poetry." The speaker hears from the accomplished astronomer his analysis of the massive and unquantifiable space and becomes "tired and sick." Annoyed at the blatant arrogance of one attempting to trap the majesty of the universe with a pen and paper, the listener wanders away and seeks the inexplicable wonder simply by looking to the stars. Whitman's genius lies in both his message and his presentation: the structure of the first half of the two part idea rhetorically suggests the structure of the lecture--each line longer and more droning than the last. Then, the lines are cut short, reflecting the calm of the night outside the lecture hall, the same calm as the contented feelings that overtake the speaker. This rhetorical manipulation of the structure allows the reader to truly empathize with the speaker and the situation. Sprinkled with some instances of literary device and imagery, this poem stays true to Whitman's artistic address to language.