SUMMATIVE TASK

(LITERATURE ANALYSIS)
SERGIO PULIDO
TEXTS TO
ANALYZE
 CONTEXT

WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D

ASTRONOMER MY LIFE AS A BAT

When I heard the learn’d Astronomer is a poem written by What we know about Margaret is that this
the American poet and essayist Walt Whitman, considered to essay was written on the XX century, in
be on the of the most important authors of the 19th century. general she believes she was a bast on her past
This poem might have been influenced by his rejection as a
teacher on high education, this was because Whitman
life, she even affirms she had had different
preferred a more intuitive learning as he opposed to the nightmares in which she experiences incidents
traditional lecture-based education. A long most of his and events that happen when she was a bat.
poems and essays he included nature and space topics, since
he wanted to transmit his love and different perspective of
nature.
 STRUCTURE

WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D

ASTRONOMER MY LIFE AS A BAT
This is a free verse written poem that consists of 8 It is an informative essay which is divided in
verses and 2 stanzas. On the first 4 verses of the poem, five different parts, where Margaret includes
we find repetition of the word “when” at the beginning
information, facts, perspective, and opinions
of each verse. On the second, third and fourth verse,
there is a discussion between the audience and the about what she thinks of bats.
lecturer about how boring the astronomy lecture is.
Then in the second stanza, he uses a complex language
to describe the astronomers lecture, this by using
technical and more elegant language.
 CONTENT
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D
ASTRONOMER
• The author includes into his poem a lecturer which
stars by giving a scientific lesson about astronomy,
including, charts, numbers, and calculus. This
lecture seems to be boring for both the audience
and for the lecturer, that is why he decides to stop
the lesson and get out of the place where he was to
get to the outside and experience some mystical
feelings when watching at the sky full of stars.
MY LIFE AS A BAT
• A long the essay she includes different part
that she uses to divide her arguments about
why she was a bat on her past life. She talks
about why she believes in reincarnation; she
talks about some nightmares she had had, and
how they are related to her believes about her
bat life and as well she talks about how bats
are extraordinary animal.
 LANGUAGE
WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D
ASTRONOMER MY LIFE AS A BAT
• Figurative language:
• Repetition:
• Imagery:
- Whitman repeats the word “When” in the first half of the poem
at the beginning of each verse. We can see the author uses - “There will be the sound of water trickling through limestone.”
anaphora to emphasize the heavy astronomy lecture.
- “I’m heading to my home, to my home cave, where it will be
• Imagery: cool during the burnout of day.”
- “This is a desert. The yuccas are in bloom.”
- “Perfect silence…”
• Technical words:
- “Mystical, moist night air...”
- - Sonar
“Ranged in columns before me…”
- Subtleties
• Technical language:
- Incendiary
- Proofs - Interlude
- Figures • Metaphor:
- Charts
- “Curse of pity”
- Diagrams
 TONE AND MOOD

WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN’D

ASTRONOMER MY LIFE AS A BAT
• Whitman created a tone that is casual
and conversational.
- Informative
• The tone of the poem is of admiration
and sickness over the lack of admiration - Ironic tone
from humans towards nature.
• The mood starts with disgust, boredom - Strong mood towards her
and confusion and transitions into a
mood of epiphany and peace. topic