Free Verse · Nature
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
by Walt Whitman · 1865
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
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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“When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer” by Walt Whitman — quilloak.com/poems/when-i-heard-the-learnd-astronomer
Quick facts
- Poem
- When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
- Poet
- Walt Whitman
- Published
- 1865
- Length
- 7 lines
- Form
- Free Verse, Short Poems
- Themes
- Nature, Life, Short
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Walt Whitman1819–1892
- Source record
- WikisourceWhen I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer by walt-whitman, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1865
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 253929e03379a393…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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