WHEN I HEARD THE LERN'D ASTRONOMER

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.

TRADUZIONE:

Quando ho sentito l'astronomo istruito,

Quando le prove, le figure erano disposte in colonne di fronte a me,

Quando ho visto i grafici e i diagrammi, per aggiungerli, dividerli e misurarli,

Quando io, seduto, ascoltavo l'astronomo nella classe dove ha insegnato e dove fu coperto da molti applausi,

Quanto inesplicabilmente presto sono diventato stanco e sofferente,

Fino a che alzatomi e scivolato via non ho iniziato a vagare da solo

Nella mistica aria notturna, e di tanto in tanto

Guardavo in perfetto silenzio verso le stelle.

ANALYSIS:

The poem might be about a lesson by an astronomer and his experienced.

Considering the title in this poem the speaking voice attends an astronomer’s public lecture on the stars. While the audience enjoys the astronomer, the speaking voice finds them unbearable (insostenibile). In the title the stress is in the words: “When” “Heard” and “Learned”.

The poem is organized into 8 lines in a one stanza only and the pattern is irregular because there is free verses. I notice that the poet uses more words in the line 1, 2, 3 and 4 and less words in the last stanzas. Perhaps the poet uses this climax because he wants that the reader takes a break and think. The poet wants to differentiate two moment. The first moment is when the speaking voice listens the astronomer and he is tired and bored, and the second moment is when the speaking voice goes out alone and he is raised (sollevato).

 There are more words in the first line because the poet wants to underline that the speaking voice is oppressed by the lesson of the astronomer, in fact in the last stanzas, when he exits by the lecture-room, the vocabulary that the poet uses is less difficult than in the first lines.

The verbs that the poet uses in the last stanzas are “free" (“rising", “gliding”). Generally, the poet uses the past to illustrate (trattare) the poem. There are also more infinity (“to add”).

The first and second lines establish (stabilire) the setting of the poem. The lines highlights that the astronomer is learned and intelligent.

The poet uses a scientific language, in fact there aren’t everyday words (“proofs", “divide", “measure"). He uses a boring tone to communicate the methods of the astronomer because he conveys his disinterest for the lesson.

In the first lines there are some hard sound. In fact there are some assonance, for example the first line “When I heard the learn’d astronomer”. There is also a enjambment in the 7 and 8 lines “In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time / look'd up in perfect silence at the stars”.

The speaking voice talks about that the astronomer thinks that there are a demonstration for all but for the speaking voice to live directly nature is better.

The register is fairly formal, the speaking voice doesn’t address to the reader. The pronoun that prevail is “I”.

The astronomer symbolizes the scientific knowing (conoscenza scientifica). In the first line the astronomer is describe as “learned”. It demonstrates this knowing. The astronomer represents that which the speaking voice sees the desire (desiderio) to understand the nature thought the science.

The message of the text wants to send is that nature, for the poet, is inexplicable (inesblicabile) and that is the reason why it is so big.