LITR 4232: American Renaissance
UHCL, spring 2002
Sample Student Answers to Final Exam

Essay question 3.  On this page are two poems, one by Whitman and another by Dickinson.  Read the poems and identify which author probably wrote which poem (which shouldn't be hard).  Referring to these poems (and to others if you like), describe, compare, and contrast Whitman's and Dickinson's unique styles and subjects.  (Objective 1, “close reading”)

                 When I Heard the Learn'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 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.

 

*********

The Brain--is wider than the Sky--

For--put them side by side--

The one the other will contain

With ease--and You--beside--

 

The Brain is deeper than the sea--

For--hold them--Blue to Blue--

The one the other will absorb--

As Sponges--Buckets--do--

 

The Brain is just the weight of God--

For--Heft them--Pound for Pound--

And they will differ--if they do--

As Syllable from Sound--

 

[First half of email essay answer]

     The poem “Astronomer” is a poem by Walt Whitman.  It is characteristic of his long, open lines.  Also found in the poem is his use of parallelism:  “When…” is used as introduction in first four lines of poem.  This is followed by picture painting of a realistic scene which is one of an astronomer teaching his scientific truths to an audience of eagerly accepting ears: “with much applause in the lecture room.”  Not characteristic of  Whitman here is the shortness of the poem as well as the feelings presented.  Also not typical of Whitman are his feelings of rejection of the previous scene, and consequent despair that leads him to seem dejected and most of all silent.  Readers usually experience Whitman’s poetry as brave, strong, and as having no lack for words even among great images such as nature’s awesome stars.  His poetry is one that embraces all and continues to take it with him.  He is not one to write about any obstacle that he does not accept and let it be part of him and us, of his world and ours.  Here he is sickened by an image of someone else’s truth, he rejects it, and then is silent.  There is not a strong hint of the wildness and freedom that readers expect of Whitman.

 

This  next poem is by Dickinson, and it is typical of her writing in that there are dashes that break the lines, and serve to keep them open.   The poem is short, but takes you on an infinite trip; it looks simple enough, but what you see is not what you get.  The “Brain” holds the sky, the sea, and is equivalent to the “weight of God.”  This firmly packed poem is typical of the intensity that Dickinson offers readers.  The lines are short, and this is representative of Dickinson control which enables her to produce huge moves or present thought provoking ideas  in small spaces.  The rebelliousness of Dickinson is apparent her as a human mind is set on a scale with God and holds its own.  She also presents matter of fact statements “The Brain is…” And then gives readers an open space as she states “if they do….”   All of these are typical of Dickinson.  The simplicity of the poem, although it is powerful and moving,  is not altogether an characteristic of Dickinson’s poetry.  Although there is a lot to think about here, the facts are pretty much laid out.  The mystery is not in her words as it is commonly in other poems.  There is a simplicity that is uncharacteristically married with clarity here.  Readers can usually expect to find simplicity in her writing, but can also expect that her words can lead them down various paths of meaning. [LL]