Prompting subjects to action, inciting inanimate objects to movement; verbs satisfy and exceed these functions. Without verbs a sentence would not be a sentence, a sentence would fall in rank to a sentence or a simple sentence. There are three generalized categories of verbs that relate to Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer": action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs. Action verbs propel the subject of the clause or sentence into motion, linking verbs establish a state of being, and helping verbs are added to both action verbs and linking verbs to increase the detail of those verbs. A shift within the poem separates the text and corresponding verbs in half; the shift falls at the beginning of the fifth ling after four successive clauses, where each "when" begins. The first half includes simple action verbs and some helping verbs as well as some verbs, the second half contains only linking and action verbs, no helping verbs. Through the contrasting structure and content between the two halves, the verbs reveal that with science and mathematics, humans are able to create a relationship with nature so that they can understand some aspects of the mysteries behind it and do not remain ignorant of the known workings of the world. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This division in the poem creates two distinct parts where the main verb implies one of the five senses and subtleties within the text infer another. The first half explicitly states that the speaker “listened to the learned astronomer” (1); the rest of the half revolves around the events of the astronomer's conference. Outside the conference the speaker “was shown the graphs and diagrams” (3) along with other mathematical and scientific tools. The images of “the evidence, the figures” (2) are ambiguous, vague. These tools are visual representations of mathematical ideas, but the speaker does not provide direct descriptions of what concepts the diagrams denote. The second half, with a similar but opposite construction, focuses on the sight of some images and the emergence of sound. There is a direct statement that the speaker “looked…at the stars” (8); although there are no specific details that provide images, the concept of a star has a concrete vision. In the words of the second half the figurative elements illuminate the sound. Assonance comes with the speaker's movements as he "rises and slides out" (6), the opening alliteration describes "the mystical, damp air of the night" (7). These sound devices add the effect of sound, but no real sound emits from the external environment. In “perfect silence” (8) the speaker looks at the stars; during the speaker's wanderings, no physical sounds come from his person. The second half clearly states that there is no sound; the first half does not mention the speaker's contribution to the sound of the lesson. Here another deduction emerges; in order for the speaker to hear the words of the conference, he must remain silent. Clues to the speaker's supposed silence appear within the poem's verbs. The other verbs such as “were ranged” (2) and “was show” (3) are passive constructions of the verbs; those actions are not performed by the speaker, they are performed by the astronomer. The astronomer lays out "the evidence, the figures" (2), exposes "the maps and diagrams" (3). As for the other verbs, the speaker “heard the astronomer” (1), the speaker listens to the lesson. He/she does not admit to interrupting the astronomer or walking away during the lesson. Each half mirrors the other; the first does not express.