4B+Levine

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There are many stylistic features in the poem //When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer// by Walt Whitman that contribute to the overall theme of transcendentalism and how it's more beneficial to learn from experience rather than by lectures. The most obvious stylistic feature that I used to get the tone across was the different voices when reciting the poem. I had a deeper, more monotone voice recite the first seven lines to get the tone of disgust and annoyance across. The last four lines were then recited in a more upbeat tone that symbolizes the appreciation when talking about experiencing nature. He uses lists such as in lines 2 through 5 to get a boring tone across, "...The proofs, the figures were arranged in columns before me, when I was shown the charts and diagrams to add, divide, and measure them." In the 10th line, Whitman uses alliteration when saying "...Mystical moist night air." He makes it seem more appealing by using alliteration which helps turn the mood of the poem around. Walt Whitman's poor grammar in this poem is used to exaggerate the fact that he isn't very educated in the first place so there is little to no point sitting in a lecture trying to learn from charts and diagrams rather than experience.