On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats

8/17/2019 On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats

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Essay on poetry

On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats

Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, A

And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; B

Round many western islands have I been B

Which bards in fealty to Aollo hold! A

"ft of one wide e#anse had I been told A

$hat dee%brow’d &omer ruled as his demesne B

'et did I never breathe its ure serene B

$ill I heard (haman seak out loud and bold; A

$hen felt like some watcher of the skies (

When a new lanet swims into his ken; )

"r like stout (orte* when with eagle eyes (

&e star’d at the +acific and all his men )

-ook’d at each other with a wild surmise (

.ilent, uon a eak in )arien! )

On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer was written by /ohn 0eats at

a very young age, it was first ublished in 1213 in the -ondon newsaer The

Examiner and a year later in 0eats’ first collection named Poems. $he oem is



an Italian sonnet comosed by fourteen lines, it means that it has an octave

and a sestet! $he rhyme scheme is ABBAABBA ()()(), in terms of

rhythm it is written in iambic entameter! In some lines of the oem, the

author used abbreviated words; as in the 4 line where the author wrote 5oft5

instead of often with the aim of comlete the feet in the lines!

In relation with the structure of the oem it is narrated by a erson who

has some knowledge through the e#eriences that he has ac6uired thanks to

the tris around the world and the reading! $he first 6uatrain of the oem

consists in a narration in which the seaker talks about the lace where he has

been 5Round many western islands have I been5 Which bards in fealty to

Aollo hold5, in this art the seaker talks about familiarity that he has with

the world and also about the culture of other laces, it is reflected when

Aollo is mentioned!

7evertheless, in the second 6uatrain the seaker introduced &omer and

some of the thoughts that he has about him and some of his writings! In the

other hand, she5he mentioned to (hamman a contemorary of .hakeseare,

famous for his translation of &omer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey 5$hat dee%

brow’d &omer ruled as his demesne5 'et did I never breathe its ure

serene5$ill I heard (haman seak out loud and bold;5 this art key, because

from it, we could infer that the seaker has read The Iliad and The Odyssey



before, but she5he had not felt a connection with those te#t until he read the

traduction of (haman!

Besides, in the sestet the seaker described his feelings after read the

translation works (haman 5$hen felt like some watcher of the skies5 When a

new lanet swims into his ken;5 "r like stout (orte* when with eagle eyes5, in

this art of the oem the seaker comares the (haman translation with the

view from an e#lorer, this is the reason why he named (orte* in the oem, to

make an allusion of one e#irer who saw the +acific "cean! $he seaker

mentioned also the word 8ken9 that here reresents a new knowledge ac6uired

by means of reading and e#loring!

:rom the lecture of the oem and the analysis of the rincial

characteristics, it is notable that the author uses several characteristics from

the eic! $he setting of an eic oem encomasses all the world, the oem

begins 5Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,5 And many goodly states

and kingdoms seen;5 Round many western islands have I been5, the

background of the oem includes many laces such as realms, kingdoms, even

a 8new lanet9 in line 1 and the +acific "cean in line 1<! Also, the eic

involves =reek deities, such as Aollo in line > 5Which bards in fealty to

Aollo hold!5 the author mention this deity for the imortance that it has in

The Iliad.



As conclusion, the author wanted e#ress with the oem, his own e#erience

reading the &omer’s works through (haman’s view! But the most imortant

asect of the oem is the metahors that the author used to show the ure

beauty of oetry and literature, that always give us the ossibility to e#lore

new laces through the arts and the literature!

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On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats