“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Introduction

• Read the full text of “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Summary

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Themes

• 

  The Power of Literature

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”

• Lines 1-4

  Much have I travell'd 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.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 5-6

  Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
  That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne;

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 7-10

  Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
  Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
  Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
  When a new planet swims into his ken;

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 11-14

  Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
  He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
  Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
  Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Symbols

• 

  Gold

  • See where this symbol appears in the poem.
• 

  Planet

  • See where this symbol appears in the poem.

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Allusion

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Consonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Caesura

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Extended Metaphor

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Simile

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Travell'd
• Goodly
• Bards
• Fealty
• Apollo
• Oft
• Expanse
• Deep-brow'd
• Homer
• Demesne
• Serene
• Chapman
• Ken
• Cortez
• Eagle eyes
• Surmise
• Darien

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Speaker

“On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer”

More “On First Looking into Chapman's Homer” Resources

• External Resources

  • Keats's Letters — An online resource containing all of Keats's correspondence.

  • 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.

  • Keats's Character — This a collection of descriptions of Keats by his contemporaries. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by John Keats

  • A thing of beauty is a joy for ever (from Endymion)

  • Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art

  • In drear nighted December

  • La Belle Dame sans Merci

  • Lamia

  • Ode on a Grecian Urn

  • Ode on Indolence

  • Ode on Melancholy

  • Ode to a Nightingale

  • Ode to Psyche

  • On Seeing the Elgin Marbles

  • On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again

  • On the Grasshopper and Cricket

  • On the Sea

  • The Eve of St. Agnes

  • The Human Seasons

  • This living hand, now warm and capable

  • To Autumn

  • To Sleep

  • When I have Fears That I May Cease to Be