Ars poetica: "When I Heard..." (twofer!)

[primeideal]

 A lot of poems contain allusions to other poems, and part of the study of poetry can be learning to recognize these common trends. Some poems I enjoy greatly are slightly less-great conversations--that is, full-on parodies! In a few cases, an amusing parody of an older poem (or other art form, I guess) can eventually outshine its predecessor in popularity. The best example I know is "You Are Old, Father William" from Alice in Wonderland, which is a parody of a 1799 poem called "The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them." Carroll's version is so well-known it has become itself a target for parody (including my own!)

"When I Heard The Learned Astronomer," by Walt Whitman, has a variety of line lengths. While sometimes I'm not sure what to make of all of those, ending on a clear line of iambic pentameter made the poem memorable for me, and to a certain extent I appreciate the speaker's position. Yet, Scott Aaronson's parody of it also speaks to me. Sure, the last line is clunkier...but in an effective way.

When I Heard...