"When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer" Walt Whitman

The speaker of When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer by Walt Whitman is a man who, as made obvious by the title, had listened to an astronmer talking scientifically about the stars. The speaker, however, does not take interest in the science or the reasoning behind stars In fact, he becomes unexplainably sick and tired by the explanations. Because the speaker is impacted in a negative way by the astronomers lecturing, it is evident that the point of the poem is to focus on the less then scientific aspects of the stars. This is even more clear through the use of the word "mystical" in the final line which is a word that is quite opposite from scientific. The speaker can't explain why he had to leave the lecture, but the final line also points that out with his happiness in how he "look'd up in perfect silence at the stars".

Whitman uses the repetition of 'when' at the beginning of each phrase to show all the things that the astronomer is pointing out about stars and astronomy. Whitman ceases that repetion with the "How soon" and signifies a change in the attitude of the speaker. Prior to 'how soon' the speaker could almost seem interested in the lecture he is hearing, however following it the tone points to his boredom with astronomy and contentment in just observing the mystical aspects of stars.

Whitman chooses not to rhyme his poem, and by doing so gives it a more story-telling aspect. The speaker comes off as though he is narrarating this experience to someone instead of purposefully coming across as a poem. A rhyme scheme would have taken away from that story-like effect.

Personally, I experienced this poem as though it was being told to me by the speaker himself, and he was expressing his frustration at having just listened to a long lecture about stars that he would much rather just sit and stare at without hearing anything.