On Looking Into Chapman's Homer
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- Date Submitted: 01/29/2010 01:39 AM
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ON LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMEr
"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is a sonnet by English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) written in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment at reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated by the Elizabethan playwright George Chapman.
Keats was so moved by the power and aliveness of Chapman's translation of Homer that he wrote this sonnet--after spending all night reading Homer with a friend. The poem expresses the intensity of Keats's experience; it also reveals how passionately he cared about poetry. To communicate how profoundly the revelation of Homer's genius affected him, Keats uses imagery of exploration and discovery. In a sense, the reading experience itself becomes a Homeric voyage, both for the poet and the reader.
Written in October 1816, this is the first entirely successful (surviving) poem he wrote. John Middleton Murry called it "one of the finest sonnets in the English language."
1 ERE PARTIE avec octet keat’s reading experience be4 reading chapman’s translation et 2 EME PARTIE sestet contrast his experience of reading it
1ere part dire he has read a lot, travelled a lot so extensive traveling experience « much i hav travelled »
Finally, "realms of gold" anticipates the references in the sestet to the Spanish Conquistadores in the New World, for whom the lust for gold was a primary motive. The repetition of "l" sounds in "travelled," "realms," and "gold" emphasizes the idea and ties the words together.
The high, even holy function that poets fulfill is indicated by their being the servants of a god, Apollo, and having sworn to follow him (with the suggestion of their having consecrated their lives to him). "Fealty," in addition, indicates their dedication to Apollo and, by extension, to their calling, the writing of poetry. Then the poem narrows to one particular poet who rules the realm of poetry, i.e., whose genius and inspired poetry raise him...
"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is a sonnet by English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) written in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment at reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated by the Elizabethan playwright George Chapman.
Keats was so moved by the power and aliveness of Chapman's translation of Homer that he wrote this sonnet--after spending all night reading Homer with a friend. The poem expresses the intensity of Keats's experience; it also reveals how passionately he cared about poetry. To communicate how profoundly the revelation of Homer's genius affected him, Keats uses imagery of exploration and discovery. In a sense, the reading experience itself becomes a Homeric voyage, both for the poet and the reader.
Written in October 1816, this is the first entirely successful (surviving) poem he wrote. John Middleton Murry called it "one of the finest sonnets in the English language."
1 ERE PARTIE avec octet keat’s reading experience be4 reading chapman’s translation et 2 EME PARTIE sestet contrast his experience of reading it
1ere part dire he has read a lot, travelled a lot so extensive traveling experience « much i hav travelled »
Finally, "realms of gold" anticipates the references in the sestet to the Spanish Conquistadores in the New World, for whom the lust for gold was a primary motive. The repetition of "l" sounds in "travelled," "realms," and "gold" emphasizes the idea and ties the words together.
The high, even holy function that poets fulfill is indicated by their being the servants of a god, Apollo, and having sworn to follow him (with the suggestion of their having consecrated their lives to him). "Fealty," in addition, indicates their dedication to Apollo and, by extension, to their calling, the writing of poetry. Then the poem narrows to one particular poet who rules the realm of poetry, i.e., whose genius and inspired poetry raise him...