On First Looking Into Chapmans Homer, by Keats
In his sonnet “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” John Keats uses the metaphor of an explorer’s profound discovery to convey the delight he experienced when he first read George Chapman’s translation of Home’s Illiad and Odyssey.
Keats begins the poem with what seems to be a description of his physical travels:
"Much have I traveled in the realms of gold,/ and many goodly states and kingdoms seen;/ Round many western islands have I been/ Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold."
The last line implies that the area he is traveling through is reverent to Apollo. Since Apollo is the Greek god of poetry, a comparison is possible between the literal travels around islands and Keats’ figurative journeys via literature. The phrase “realms of gold”, then, would refer to the quality of the literature he has read. “Many goodly states and kingdoms seen” implies that Keats has been exposed to different countries and cultures through his reading. “Western islands” is a metaphor for books, which are like islands in that they are separate bodies of knowledge; they are self-contained. In this section of the poem, Keats is relating his years of study in the area of poetry. He also uses this section to express how much he has been exposed to, so when he tells of the impact Chapman’s translation of Homer has on him, we will understand.
The following lines introduce Homer and his work: "Oft of one wide expanse had I been told/ That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne…." The image presented in these lines is that of Homer being a ruler over some vast domain. In the context of the poem, these lines mean that Homer rules over a certain area of literature. His are some of the only records of ancient Greece. The image of Homer being a ruler also implies the importance of his work to Keats.
The next line of the sonnet sets up the transition: “Yet did I never breathe its pure serene.” The metaphor is that in his reading of literature, Keats never set foot in Homer’s domain; in other words, he had not experienced the works of Homer (presumably because of the language barrier).
The second stage of the sonnet is the resolution. Explaining how Chapman’s translation enabled him to read Homer, Keats writes, “Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold.” The rest of the stanza explains his reactions. We have already seen how extensive Keats has read, which is important when looking at the last lines. It gives these images more import. Keats continues with the explorer image:
Then I felt like some watcher of the skies/When a new planet swims into his ken;/ Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes/ He stared at the Pacific….”
Keats compares this experience of reading Chapman’s translation to that of an astronomer discovering a new planet, to that of Cortez (or Balboa) first laying eyes on the vast Pacific Ocean. Imagine, Keats asks us, how profound those experiences must be.
Keats’ use of metaphor better enables the reader to imagine this literary thrill. In fact, as we explore the images and comparisons, we ourselves discover the beauty and grace in Keats’ craft, much in the way he did Chapman’s.
