On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Keats
- First Published: 1816
- Type of Work: Sonnet
- Genres: Poetry, Sonnet
- Subjects: Language or languages, Traveling or travelers, Literature, Poetry or poets, Storytelling, Reading, Greek or Roman times, Pacific Ocean, Exploration or explorers
The Poem
“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” is a sonnet describing the excitement experienced by the narrator upon reading a translation of Homer’s Iliad (c. 800 b.c.e.) by the sixteenth century poet George Chapman. Though it is often unwise to equate the narrator of a poem with the author, in this instance it seems appropriate to assume that John Keats himself is speaking of his own sense of amazement and delight in discovering the joys of reading Homer in such a vibrant English rendition.
The focus throughout the poem is on the feelings engendered...
[The entire page is 1439 words long]
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