Read the following poem. Then, complete the tasks written below.
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
BY WALT WHITMAN
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 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.
Write a poem in free verse on a subject of your choice.
Which discipline better presents and captures the mystery and awe of the universe: science or poetry.
What was Walt Whitman's attitude toward science?
Give 3 possible paper topics as well.
Poem:
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry if it is burdensome
To always wear your heart on your sleeve,
While I tuck mine away.
I’m sorry if it is growing harder
To bear every pop and crack as they roll down your aching spine,
While you know full well that I don’t have one myself.
I’m sorry if it kills you
To blink away stinging tears and to rub at red-rashed faces,
While my eyes remain dry.
I’m sorry if the deadweight of my distance is suffocating in its own right.
Poetry v. Science:
Science and poetry—two seemingly disconnected disciplines that, should they meet, give us a unique human experience. When considering which better encompasses the awe and wonder of the universe, it becomes rather clear just how powerful the conjunction between the two can be. Science exposes us to the vast, indefinite nature of our universe. It makes us feel simultaneously insignificant and capable of every impossibility. It provokes a kind of wonder that can only be experienced in the darkness below an infinite sky washed with stars. Poetry has the opposite effect. Poetry gives us an intimate relationship with the universe. It voices the experiences of the human heart, something that resonates throughout creation. Poetry supplies humanity to the wonder experienced through the universe. Truly, I do not believe that either is any better at exemplifying the awesomeness of the universe. Instead, I simply believe they each speak a different yet universal truth about the world in which we all reside.
Walt Whitman:
In the poem When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, Walt Whitman presents a relatively short story of a man seemingly disillusioned with scientific study. In the poem, Whitman remains rather frank. He is outright about the duties of scientists such as the ‘learn’d astronomer in the lecture-room’, and he is also quite outright about his disinterest in the proofs, figures, charts, and diagrams presented to him by said astronomer. He is, instead, concerned with the more simplistic philosophical quandaries to be found within himself. In a moment of irony, he abandons the noise and explanations of the ‘learn’d astronomer’, escaping to contentment and silence experiencing the space and stars for himself and by himself. To me, it seems that Whitman’s poem remains evocative of the need to step out and find quiet among God’s creation amid the clutter of all else.
Three Topics:
Should CRISPR-Cas9 and other targeted genome editors be made available to the public or discontinued?
Should the War on Drugs be allowed to persist?
Should gene theft be taken more seriously as an offense against and an invasion of privacy?
Nice topics Anna, I feel as though you can make very good use of them in your paper!
DeleteAnna, your poem is beautiful! It has a very meaningful message behind it. If you can think through nd really develop your last topic, it would be very interesting to write on. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
DeleteDay by day my life changes,
ReplyDeleteI wake up
Sometimes tired sometimes not.
I cook my breakfast everyday,
Then travel to school to learn.
When the school day comes to an end,
I workout and return home,
Only to find myself going over this cycle again.
Science vs. Poetry
Which of the two better captures the mystery and awe of the universe? The fields of science do not exactly capture the awe and mystery of the universe. They mostly deal with finding out why there is mystery and awe in the universe. Poetry however, captures these mysteries and awe. It puts them into writing and the poet can reveal them in many different ways to the reader. The main reasoning why science is apart from poetry in capturing the mystery and awe is it is constantly asking “why?”
Walt Whitman’s attitude toward science is he feels unaccountable towards it. He hears the astronomer speak and show diagrams, graphs, etc. As a result he decides to go out and see the stars for himself. This makes me feel as though Walt Whitman attitude toward science is he wants to learn more.
Three topics:
1. Is cloning appropriate in the present day world?
2. Should humans have the ability to determine if life lives or dies?
3. Should there be new forms of discrimination against the disabled?
I really like how relatable your poem is. I also like your view on how poetry describes the awe of the universe, although I didn’t see it that way.
DeletePoem:
ReplyDeleteI see you as I walk into the room and try to hold back the tears.
A million memories come flooding back of all those times we’ve shared together.
We swam, fed the horses, and made up games,
But now I look at you and you’re helpless.
I miss your smile and laugh, and they way you made me do the same.
And I think how your life will always be like this, never normal again,
All because of a few dumb choices and regrets.
You see, I never though someone could be 23 and more helpless than I’ve ever seen.
Poetry vs Science:
Which food better represents the science of cooking: ice cream or pizza? This question is like asking whether science or poetry better represents the awe of the universe. Yes while pizza and ice cream are both foods, they are composed and created quite differently so it seems almost impossible to decide which describes making food better. It’s also like this with science and poetry. One may pick science because they think it’s its more important and interesting to find the answers to a natural phenomenon. While another say day poetry because it finds a beautiful way to put these abstract concepts about our universe into words. So personally, I find the best way to describe the mystery of our universe is to combine the two. To find a beautiful way to describe these natural patterns to please both the truth seeker and the word reader.
Walt Whitman:
In this poem, Walt Whitman talks about astronomers of his time. He discusses their knowledge and how they achieve that knowledge. To me, it seems like it’s all just so confusing to him. He says how none of it makes sense so he just steps outside and like to look up and be in awe of the beauty of the stars. I don’t think it’s not that he doesn’t like science, but rather he can appreciate astronomy more by just admiring its beauty. Many of us can be like this today. For example, would you rather just relax at the beach or study the way the waves work? This point shows that Walt relates more to the every day person, than the professional scientist.
Three Topics:
How should we properly care for patients in a Persistent Vegetative State? Is their quality life considered as much of a life?
How should we properly discern end of life decision making?
How should we handle people who don’t identify as their originally born gender?
I enjoyed your analogy of pizza and ice cream, it illustrates the topic! I am looking forward to where your topics go, they sound nice.
DeleteWrite a poem in free verse on a subject of your choice:
ReplyDeleteWhen glaring at the gleeming goo
Of the people whom are glued
Possessing such attributes as
Facial extremities
Creating enemies
Why, then, is this not the epitome
Of the nature of a bee
Which discipline better presents and captures the mystery and awe of the universe: science or poetry:
Poetry and science are one in the same; they both act as a medium of truth, a medium of apprehending the universe, a way of bridging our unfathomably insignificant lives with the unending wonders of space. Science unravels the deep, quantitative complexities that lie around us; whereas poetry glazes over theories and facts, allowing for every conscious being to understand. Whether one clings to a series of meaningless words or equally meaningless numbers for comfort and fulfillment, or simply for the pursuit of knowledge, there is no difference - science and poetry pursue the same objective, whether one “captures the mystery of the universe” better than the other is up to subjective opinion.
What was Walt Whitman's attitude toward science?:
In witnessing the analytics of astronomy, and in being presented with diagrams, charts among other tools of science; Whitman sees past this, and simply looks at the essence of it all. He goes outside and glazes at the stars. Whitman belives that science is merely an extrapolation of what is. He has a simple idea, a simple perspective and attitude that encompasses the totality of it all, suggesting that only by this course of action can the universe be fathomed and fully appreciated.
Give 3 possible paper topics as well:
Medical Resource Allocation (access to healthcare - all people?)
The Ethics of Eugenics (improving genetic quality)
Implications of Gender Today (ethical? - what going on? - biological but fairness too? - wrong)