W took notes on how to make some stylistic improvements in our writing. Unfortunately, those notes are not currently availalbe to post online, so if you were absent, you may need to check with a friend. If I don't find the notes to post, they are (in a nut shell):

-avoiding redundancies in word choice
- avoiding sentences that start with "this" after quotations and statements. (This shows that...)
-avoiding linking, progressing, and passive uses of "to be".

Then we discussed the poem "When I Heard the Learned Astronomer" by Walt Whitman. Your assignment is to write a paragraph on the poem as explained below.

When I Heard the Learned Astronomer
by Walt Whitman



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.

Directions:

Write a paragraph that analyzes how Walt Whitman uses different literary devices in order to adress Romantic themes in his poem. Consider such things as diction, syntax, imagery, sound devices, etc. You may also address how Whitman address Romantic themes by creating contrast to those ideas. The topic sentence of this paragraph should include:

 Name of Poet
 Title of poem
 Poetry devices
 A specific Romantic theme like importance of the beauty of nature rather than a scientific viewpoint.)


You must provide a quotation for each support, and follow all style guidelines. There should be three pieces of evidence per paragraph.

Due on Thursday.