Structure and versification of On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer The poem is a Petrarchan Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was a scholar and poet of Renaissance Italy who was one of the earliest humanists. His rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with inventing the 14th-century Renaissance. Petrarch is often considered the founder of Hum…Petrarch
Sonnet
A sonnet is a poetic form which originated in Italy; Giacomo Da Lentini is credited with its invention. The term sonnet is derived from the Italian word sonetto. By the thirteenth century it signified a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme and specific structure. Conventions associated with the sonnet have evolved over its history.
Who wrote Homer sonnet?
On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer – Summary & Analysis On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer is a very famous sonnet written by the celebrated romantic poet John Keats.
What type of poem is on first looking into Chapman's Homer?
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795–1821) in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment while reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated by the Elizabethan playwright George Chapman . The poem...
When did Keats write on first looking into Homer?
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795–1821) in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment while reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated by the Elizabethan playwright George Chapman. On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
Did Shakespeare read other versions of Homer?
Chapman was a contemporary of Shakespeare in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Shakespeare actually probably read Chapman's translations; that's probably where he got his Homer. Keats and Clarke had read other translations of Homer. One of the most popular versions at the time was by the poet Alexander Pope.
What is the meter of On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is written in iambic pentameter, which is typical for sonnets of Keats's time. Most lines fall into this metrical scheme, which is also what Chapman used for some of his translations of Homer—though it's not clear if it's those works that the speaker refers to here.
What is the metaphor in On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
The poem is really an extended metaphor, in which the 'realms of gold' are both Homer's ancient Grecian realms, 'travelled' as Keats read about them, and also the gold-embossed spines and gilt-edged pages of the books themselves.
Why did John Keats Write On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
These lines were inspired by his first reading of Chapman's translation of homer's Iliad and Odyssey. In the octave of the sonnet, Keats intends to express the contrast between his reading of other romance and this first reading of Chapman's translation of Homer's epic poems.
What does the speaker discover in On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
The first four lines of "Chapman's Homer" are a statement of the experience he has already had as a reader of poetry: "Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold . . ." In poetry he has found the gold that Cortez, and the other conquistadors he had read about in William Robertson's History of America, had searched for ...
What is the figure of speech in the line when a new planet swims into his ken?
To say that the planet "swims" into the astronomer's "ken" (or, range of sight) is an example of extreme metaphorical language called catachresis, which is a radical misuse of a word.
What is the meaning of Realms of Gold?
The "realms of gold" in the first line of the poem refers to the translation of Homer by George Chapman that Keats is reading. In this sonnet, Keats compares reading this translation to the discoveries the early explorers made as they circled the globe in search of physical realms (or cities) of gold.
Is a sonnet?
The sonnet is a popular classical form that has compelled poets for centuries. Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, employing one of several rhyme schemes, and adhering to a tightly structured thematic organization.
Who is Apollo mentioned in the poem First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
On First Looking into Chapman's Homerby John KeatsWhich bards in fealty to Apollo hold.Oft of one wide expanse had I been told5That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;30 more rows
What does the speaker say about the urns ability to tell a tale?
-The tale told by the urn is "flowery" and "sweet," as if you could bury your nose in it like a bee inside a daffodil. Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? -This is the point when our speaker leans in to take a closer look at the urn.
Who wrote On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer?
On First Looking into Chapman's Homerby John KeatsOft of one wide expanse had I been told5That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;Yet did I never breathe its pure serene30 more rows
When Was On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer written?
1816On First Looking into Chapman's Homer, sonnet by John Keats, first published in The Examiner in 1816 and later published in Poems (1817), Keats's first collection.
What is on seeing the Elgin Marbles about?
'On Seeing the Elgin Marbles' by John Keats is a poem about mortality. The speaker observes the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum and is moved by their power. The speaker spends the poem 'On Seeing the Elgin Marbles' thinking about their own death, inspired by the incredible sight of these Greek statues.
Who is generally known as the translator of Homer?
Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century....George ChapmanPeriodElizabethanGenreTragedy, translationNotable worksBussy D'Ambois, translations of Homer4 more rows
Who wrote the first look into Chapman's Homer?
Silent, upon a peak in Darien. On First Looking into Chapman's Homer is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795–1821) in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment while reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated ...
Who published the book "On First, Looking into Chapman's Homer"?
Historian of science Edward B. (Ted) Davis published a pastiche, "On First, Looking into Chapman's Homer", about a long home run by Mickey Mantle, in Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature 29 (1), Fall 2011/Winter 2012, p. 35 (but it actually appeared in August 2013). The addition of a comma in Keats' title provides an indispensable pun—a clue ...
What book does Henry James refer to Keats's sonnet in?
Henry James refers to Keats's sonnet in Book 2 of The Golden Bowl (1904), in his description of Adam Verver's discovery of his passion for collecting objects of art. G. K. Chesterton uses the line in one of his drinking songs, "The Logical Vegetarian". http://www.elfinspell.com/ChestertonLogicalVegetarian.html.
What is the last line of the sonnet "Silent upon a peak in Darien"?
Tobias Wolff references the last line of the sonnet ("Silent, upon a peak in Darien") in "Bullet in the Brain".
What book is based on the discovery of Uranus?
Edgar Allan Poe was inspired by Keats's writing about the discovery of Uranus when he wrote his early poem " Al Aaraaf " (1829). The book 1066 and All That, a parody of school history textbooks, contains two references to the poem. The first is the following extract: "A Darien Scheme.
What is the first chapter of Swallows and Amazons?
The first chapter of Arthur Ransome 's Swallows and Amazons is titled "A Peak in Darien" and is headed with the last four lines of the sonnet. Titty gives the name "Darien" to the headland from which the Swallows first see the lake. The quotation crops up again in Peter Duck, prompting Bill to ask "Who's fat Cortez?".
Who wrote the sonnet "Look'd at each other with a wild surmise"?
Silent, upon a peak in Darien. On First Looking into Chapman's Homer is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet John Keats (1795–1821) in October 1816. It tells of the author's astonishment while reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer as freely translated by the Elizabethan playwright ...
Reading Chapman's Homer
We're talking about a sonnet in this lesson, and we love sonnets because they are only 14 lines. So this is going to be short - hooray! Before we get to the sonnet, we're going to talk about how it was written, because it's pretty interesting (and also, if we only talked about the sonnet, because it's short, we wouldn't have enough to say!)
Keats Tweets a Sonnet
If you encountered this situation, you might update your Facebook status to 'OMG! BSG !' (if you were into Battlestar ), and your friends would probably comment on it. But if you're Keats, and you don't have Facebook but you still just need to say your piece to the world, you write a sonnet. A sonnet is just a type of poem.
Who wrote "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"?
A LitCharts expert can help. A LitCharts expert can help. "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is a sonnet written by English poet John Keats when he was just 20 years old. Essentially, it is a poem about poetry itself, describing a reading experience so profound that an entire world seems to come to life.
Who translated Homer's poem?
The poem talks specifically about a translation of Homer, the Classical Greek poet, by George Chapman, an Elizabethan poet whose translations were more concerned with the reader's experience of the text than loyalty to the original form.
What is the book review of Keats?
A Review of Keats's Poetry — A review from 1818 published in Blackwood's Magazine, showcasing some of the literary establishment's prejudices against Keats. Chapman's Odyssey — George Chapman's actual translation of one of Homer's works, The Odyssey.
Who wrote the poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"?
A summary and analysis of a classic John Keats poem by Dr Oliver Tearle. ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’ is a sonnet composed by Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) in October 1816, when he was just 20 years old.
What is the six line unit in Homer's poem?
The final six-line unit (or sestet ) of the poem then likens the poet’s experience of ‘discovering’ Homer to the discovery of a new planet (sure enough, the planet Uranus had been discovered by William Herschel in 1781) and to a Spanish conquistador’s sighting of the Pacific ocean.
What is the form of Silent upon a Peak in Darien?
Silent, upon a peak in Darien. The form of the poem is, specifically, an Italian or a Petrarchan sonnet rather than an English sonnet – which seems odd, given the poem’s focus on English literature (the English Chapman’s translation of epic poetry), but which makes more sense given the poem’s other subject, namely the Mediterranean as a seat ...
Why can't Keats read Homer's words?
But Keats could not appreciate Homer because he cannot read Greek. So he cannot read Homer’s words. That is, until he encounters George Chapman’s English translation of Homer, at which point the world of the ancient Greek poet is suddenly and magically opened up to him. The final six-line unit (or sestet) of the poem then likens ...
What is the meaning of the poem "Much have I traveled in the realms of gold"?
1559-1634), likening the experience to that of an astronomer discovering a new planet or an explorer sighting an unknown land. Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
What is the line from the Petrarchan sonnet on first looking into Chapman's Homer?
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.”. These lines from 9 to 14 form the sestet of the Petrarchan sonnet On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats. In these lines, Keats compares himself to a skywatcher who has suddenly found a new planet or the legendary adventurer Cortes who was the first European to find or see the Mexico City.
What is the first look into Chapman's Homer about?
On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer is about Keats’ venture into the reading of Chapman’s translations of Homer. He is overly excited about his new-found knowledge and as a poet of experience and occasion, he writes about it as most of the Romantics used to do – express their feelings or moments. Keats thinks that reading ...
How does John Keats begin his sonnet?
So, what we get is that the poet John Keats begins his sonnet On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer by telling the readers about his readership of poetry and the various poets he has read and many things he knows about the realms of imagination. In these lines, Keats announces to the readers about his introduction to Homer.
Who did Keats introduce to the readers?
In these lines, Keats announces to the readers about his introduction to Homer. He tells that though he knew about Homer and his epics ago, he had a better or the best opportunity to know him and his works only when he read the translations of him by George Chapman.
Who wrote the poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"?
Poetry Analysis. 20 Comments. On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer is a very famous sonnet written by the celebrated romantic poet John Keats. It was composed in October 1816 by the poet and the inspiration for the poem came to Keats when he studied Homer’s epics which were translated by a renowned Elizabethan literary figure known ...
What is the meaning of the poem "The Fanciful Exploration of a New World"?
A usual romantic poem in tone and content, the poem is about the fanciful exploration of a new world – the world of Greek legends and it formed the base of many of the later poems that Keats wrote.
Overview
Structure
This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, also known as an Italian sonnet, divided into an octave and a sestet, with a rhyme scheme of a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a-c-d-c-d-c-d. After the main idea has been introduced and the image played upon in the octave, the poem undergoes a volta, a change in the persona's train of thought. The volta, typical of Italian sonnets, is put very effectively to use by Keats as he refines his previous idea. While the octave offers the poet as a literary explorer, the …
Background information
Keats' generation was familiar enough with the polished literary translations of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which gave Homer an urbane gloss similar to Virgil, but expressed in blank verse or heroic couplets. Chapman's vigorous and earthy paraphrase (1616) was put before Keats by Charles Cowden Clarke, a friend from his days as a pupil at a boarding school in Enfield Town. They sat up together till daylight to read it: "Keats shouting with delight as some passage of esp…
Analysis
The "realms of gold" in the opening line seem to imply worldly riches, until the name of Homer appears; then they are recognized as literary and cultural realms. Of the many islands of the Aegean, the one which bards most in fealty owe to Apollo, leader of the inspiring Muses, is Delos, the sacred island that was Apollo's birthplace. The island-dotted Aegean lies at the eastern end of the Mediterrane…
Cultural references to the poem
• Edgar Allan Poe was inspired by Keats's writing about the discovery of Uranus when he wrote his early poem "Al Aaraaf" (1829).
• The book 1066 and All That, a parody of school history textbooks, contains two references to the poem. The first is the following extract: "A Darien Scheme. The Scots were now in a skirling uproar because James II was the last of the Scottish Kings and England was under the rule of the Dutch Orange; it was therefore decided to put them in charge …
External links
• An omnibus collection of Keats' poetry at Standard Ebooks
• Discusses the creation of the poem, and also shows the original manuscript.
• Chapman's Homer: The Iliads and The Odysseys