The Scientist Analysis

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Poem Analysis Artist and scientist: Leonardo da Vinci, used science to improve his artwork: dissections of the human body and studying human anatomy helped create a realistic sense in his paintings. Da Vinci’s study of science helped create a fairly accurate representation of the bodies he observed when he painted. He believed the eye was the best instrument for observation and an artist was the ideal person to illustrate ("Museum of Science, Boston"). In “The Scientist,” a poem written by Janet Burroway, the view points of a surgeon and a poet are created to convey that conventional and literal boundaries fall to the wayside of creative forces. The use of observant diction and formulaic imagery convey an understanding between the poet and the surgeon. The use of observant diction allows the reader to determine the view points of the surgeon and the poet. The surgeon adheres to the conventional methods and words he has come to use while practicing medicine, “Cranium, formed of the commonest elements; / Weighing nine ounces, worth about fourteen cents” (18-19). The surgeon’s use of medical terminology and direct tone associates his view point to be one based on his training as a doctor, which conspires to be from a literal and conventional standpoint; “’The suture between the parietals and the occipital feature’” (10-11) is another example of the surgeon’s loyalty to a conventional view point. The surgeon is observing the skull, but still finds nothing “mysterious” about it. He is just stating what he sees in specific to the structure of the skull he is holding; the conventional approach to observations that he has found. The poet’s use of description of what is being seen going on around her and the surgeon, allows for a more artistic background to be established. The poet’s description of the skull and the surgeon’s interaction to the skull is described by
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