Question

What does this poem mean
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


Give a short simple answer

Answer 1

The poem explores the contrast between the scientific approach of studying astronomy and the personal and spiritual experience of observing the stars. The speaker becomes disengaged with the scholarly lecture and seeks a deeper connection with the universe by going outside and contemplating the stars in silence.