Respond to one of the following essay prompts:
A. Poe believed that good short stories require a single, unifying effect. Evaluate one of the stories in the American Romanticism unit using Poe’s standard of unity. Do the descriptions, incidents, and images all contribute to the single effect of the story? Is there a single effect? Feel free to evaluate Poe’s own story.
B. Consider what you have learned about American history during the period of 1820 to 1864. How do the stories in the American Romanticism reflect what was going on in the country then?
C. Read and analyze "When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman. What Romantic ideas does it express, and how does the structure of the poem reinforce the meaning?
When I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
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C. "When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman is a poem that expresses several Romantic ideas, particularly the idea of the individual's connection with nature and the rejection of a purely scientific or analytical approach to understanding the world. The structure of the poem reinforces this meaning by contrasting the sterile environment of the lecture-room with the beauty and wonder of the night sky.
The poem begins with the speaker describing their experience in the lecture-room, where they listen to the learn'd astronomer and are presented with scientific proofs and figures. The use of repetition emphasizes the dry and monotonous nature of the lecture, as the speaker hears the astronomer, sees the charts and diagrams, and is instructed to add, divide, and measure them. This repetition also adds to the effect of the poem, highlighting the relentless and overwhelming nature of the scientific approach.
However, as the poem continues, the speaker's tone shifts. They feel tired and sick, and eventually, they rise and leave the lecture-room. The change in structure, from the lengthy and detail-oriented descriptions of the scientific environment to the shorter and more concise lines after the speaker's departure, conveys a sense of liberation and freedom.
The final lines of the poem, "In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, / Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars," encapsulate the Romantic ideas expressed in the poem. The speaker finds solace and meaning in the natural world, escaping the confines of the lecture-room and embracing the sublime beauty of the stars. The use of vivid imagery and sensory language, such as "mystical" and "moist night-air," evokes a sense of awe and wonder.
The structure of the poem, with its shift from the analytical and rational to the experiential and emotional, reinforces the Romantic ideas expressed. By juxtaposing the scientific environment with the serene beauty of nature, Whitman emphasizes the limitations of a purely rational approach and highlights the importance of individual experience and connection with the natural world.
Overall, "When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer" expresses Romantic ideas about the power of nature and the rejection of a purely scientific or analytical approach. The structure of the poem reinforces these ideas by contrasting the sterile environment of the lecture-room with the awe-inspiring beauty of the night sky, ultimately advocating for the individual's personal experience and connection with nature.