Grade 8
When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
I. Answer briefly.
Q1. Why do you think the speaker became ‘tired and sick’ listening to the lecture? What did he do to
make himself feel better?
Ans. The speaker became ‘tired and sick’ listening to the lecture because he was bored and not
interested in the lecture. To make himself feel better, he leaves the room quietly and wanders
outside in the dark, looking up at the stars from time to time, to remind himself of their magical
existence.
Q2. What, according to the speaker, is the best way to understand nature?
Ans. The poem suggests that the best way to understand nature is by experiencing it. The
speaker’s experience when he steps outside of the lecture room and gazes at the stars tells us that
true understanding and appreciation of nature often come from experiencing it personally, rather
than through study.
II. Answer in detail.
Q1. How does the poem serve to highlight the difference between information and experience?
Ans. The poem highlights the difference between information and experience by contrasting a
scientific lecture with a moment of personal reflection. In the first part of the poem, the speaker
listens to a lecture filled with facts, figures, charts, and scientific explanations—this represents
information. The speaker becomes bored and tired with so much information.
The second part of the poem shifts to the speaker’s personal experience of stepping outside and
looking up ‘in perfect silence at the stars’. The speaker feels a connection with nature when he
experiences it directly. This shows the difference between information and experience.
III. Annotation
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.
1. Name the poem and the poet.
Ans. When I Heard the Learned Astronomer by Walt Whitman.
2. Where do you think the speaker is sitting?
Ans. The speaker is sitting in a class or lecture room.
When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
I. Answer briefly.
Q1. Why do you think the speaker became ‘tired and sick’ listening to the lecture? What did he do to
make himself feel better?
Ans. The speaker became ‘tired and sick’ listening to the lecture because he was bored and not
interested in the lecture. To make himself feel better, he leaves the room quietly and wanders
outside in the dark, looking up at the stars from time to time, to remind himself of their magical
existence.
Q2. What, according to the speaker, is the best way to understand nature?
Ans. The poem suggests that the best way to understand nature is by experiencing it. The
speaker’s experience when he steps outside of the lecture room and gazes at the stars tells us that
true understanding and appreciation of nature often come from experiencing it personally, rather
than through study.
II. Answer in detail.
Q1. How does the poem serve to highlight the difference between information and experience?
Ans. The poem highlights the difference between information and experience by contrasting a
scientific lecture with a moment of personal reflection. In the first part of the poem, the speaker
listens to a lecture filled with facts, figures, charts, and scientific explanations—this represents
information. The speaker becomes bored and tired with so much information.
The second part of the poem shifts to the speaker’s personal experience of stepping outside and
looking up ‘in perfect silence at the stars’. The speaker feels a connection with nature when he
experiences it directly. This shows the difference between information and experience.
III. Annotation
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.
1. Name the poem and the poet.
Ans. When I Heard the Learned Astronomer by Walt Whitman.
2. Where do you think the speaker is sitting?
Ans. The speaker is sitting in a class or lecture room.
