When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," which is included in the "By the Roadside" section of the standard 1892 edition of Leaves of Grass, published in New York and now widely available from imprints such as W. W. Norton (1973), is a prime example of a Drum-Taps poem whose subject is not confined to the Civil War. Although one of its important themes deals with the idea of unity and individualism that resonates with the struggle for the Union of States, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is chiefly a poem about romanticism, nature, and astronomy.
By Atlantic Poetry Guild
