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"On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is a
sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...
written by the English Romantic poet
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...
. Written in October 1816, it tells of Keats' sense of wonder and amazement upon first reading the translation of the ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' by
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
playwright
George Chapman George Chapman ( – 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman is seen as an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century. He is ...
. The poem has become an oft-quoted classic that is cited to demonstrate the emotional power of a great work of art and its ability to evoke an epiphany in its beholder.


Background information

Keats's generation was familiar enough with the polished literary translations of
John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
and
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
, which gave Homer an urbane gloss similar to
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
but was expressed in
blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...
or
heroic couplet A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used in epic and narrative poetry, and consisting of a rhyming pair of lines in iambic pentameter. Use of the heroic couplet was pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in the '' Legen ...
s. Charles Cowden Clarke and John Keats both had a scrappy awareness of Pope’s translation and the most famous passages of Homer. Chapman's vigorous and earthy paraphrase (1616) was put before Keats by Clarke, a friend from his days as a pupil at a boarding school in
Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 333,587 in 2021. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Hig ...
who was integral in Keats’s poetic education. Charles Cowden Clarke had been lent a copy of Chapman’s Homer that was circulating around friends of
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
, co-founder and editor of ''The Examiner''. They sat up together till daylight to read it: "Keats shouting with delight as some passage of especial energy struck his imagination. At ten o'clock the next morning, Mr. Clarke found the sonnet on his breakfast-table." The poem was first published in ''The Examiner'' on 1 December 1816. It was later published in a collection called ''Poems'' in 1817.


Poem


Analysis

The "realms of gold" in the opening line seem to imply worldly riches until the name of
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
appears, then they are recognised as literary and cultural realms. The gold in this case refers to the intellectual and emotional rewards of literature. Of the many deities worshipped in the cultures of the Aegean, the god to whom the bards owe the most in fealty is
Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
, the leader of the inspiring
Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
and Greek god of poetry and music. The Western islands is a reference to the Western Canon.
Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...
is the sacred island that was Apollo's birthplace. The second quatrain introduces "one wide expanse" that was ruled by Homer, but Keats had only “been told” of it as he could not read the original Greek (most cultured Englishmen of the time were only familiar with Latin). The "wide expanse" might have been a horizon of land or sea, but in Keats's ”pure serene”, it is sensed as encompassing the whole atmosphere. Chapman's voice then rings out. This sense of fresh discovery brings the reader to the volta: "Then felt I...". The reference to a "new planet" would have been important to Keats’s contemporary readers because of the recent discovery of
Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...
with a telescope in 1781 by
William Herschel Frederick William Herschel ( ; ; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover ...
, Court Astronomer to
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. News of Herschel's discovery was sensational, as it was the first "new" planet to be discovered since antiquity. Herschel was not the first person to have seen Uranus, but he was the person to have it recognised by the world as a planet. Keats may have read about Herschel’s discovery in the last chapter of a book he won while at Enfield Academy, an Introduction to Astronomy by Johnny Bonnycastle (published 1807). The author compares reading Homer's poetry through Chapman's translation to discovering a new world through a telescope. The translation helps Keats appreciate the significance of Homer's poetry. Through Chapman's translation, Homer's preservation of the ancient Greek world comes to life with patience and perseverance in reading. Keats was thrilled by the gift of discovery, similar to Herschel. Members of
Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish people, Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for crossing the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to ...
's expedition were the first Europeans to see the eastern shore of the Pacific (1513), but Keats chose to use
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
. "Darien" refers to
Darién Province Darién (, ; ) is a Provinces of Panama, province in Panama whose capital city is La Palma, Darién, La Palma. With an area of , it is located at the eastern end of the country and bordered to the north by the province of Panamá Province, Panam ...
, in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. Keats had read William Robertson's ''History of America'' as a library book from Enfield Academy, and apparently conflated two scenes that it describes: Balboa's view of the Pacific and Cortés's first view of the
Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...
(1519). The Balboa passage: "At length the Indians assured them, that from the top of the next mountain they should discover the ocean which was the object of their wishes. When, with infinite toil, they had climbed up the greater part of the steep ascent, Balboa commanded his men to halt, and advanced alone to the summit, that he might be the first who should enjoy a spectacle which he had so long desired. As soon as he beheld the South Sea stretching in endless prospect below him, he fell on his knees, and lifting up his hands to Heaven, returned thanks to God, who had conducted him to a discovery so beneficial to his country, and so honourable to himself. His followers, observing his transports of joy, rushed forward to join in his wonder, exultation, and gratitude" (Vol. III). In retrospect, Keats's use of Cortés rather than Balboa as the person to introduce the Pacific Ocean to the wider world may have been serendipitously insightful. This is because the first translation of Homer into English was done by Arthur Hall in 1581. However, Hall’s translation, while earlier, like Balboa’s sighting of the Pacific that was earlier than Cortés’s, did not have as renowned and impactful a reception as Chapman’s later translation did. Before Cortés's 1519–21
conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...
, Cortés had been a colonist, administrator and conquistador in
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...
(from 1504) and Cuba (from 1511). Cortés never traveled to Darién but may have seen the Pacific after his conquest of the
Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...
or during his 1524–1526 visit to Honduras. Later during his governorship of Mexico, Cortés was a major explorer of the Pacific coast of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and
Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
. Since Cortés was never in Darién, Keats made a historical error. The standard critical view is that Keats simply remembered the grand but separate images of Cortés and of Darien, rather than their historical contexts. In retrospect, Keats's historical error does not diminish from the poem’s literary impact, and likewise suggests that Chapman’s inaccuracies (Chapman gets details wrong, adds entire lines and has his own interpretation) do not diminish the poetic impact of Chapman’s Homer. Homer's "pure serene" has prepared the reader for the ''Pacific'' and so the analogy now expressed in the
simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...
that identifies the wide expanse of Homer's
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...
with the vast Pacific, which stuns its discoverers into silence, is felt to be the more just. The
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
is the largest and deepest ocean on Earth. It represents a vast and deep new frontier that has an all-encompassing influence on the islands (Homer is the original influence for other poets) and facilitates connection and cultural exchange between communities. Cortés wonders at the ocean’s significance and beauty, and his understanding of the world is transformed by contemplating the encounter. Keats felt amazed by the beauty and meaning of Homer’s poetry when he read Chapman's translation. He compared it to discovering the Pacific, due to its vastness (large cast of characters in a 10-year war who span the emotional palette), depth (in the sense that literature rewards close reading, in the depth of motivations and emotions, the depth to which the themes of mortality, destiny, morality, identity inform the
human condition The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...
), and Homer's influence as the first and greatest written poet in the
Western Canon The Western canon is the embodiment of High culture, high-culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly cherished across the Western culture, Western world, such works having achieved the status of classics. Recent ...
. He enjoyed (particularly with Clarke, with whom the poem was first commemorated before being extended to the public) how poetry can connect people in shared wonder and contemplation. Keats’s poetry engages the old (Uranus, the Pacific, Homer) with new eyes and fresh appreciation. It is filled with a sense of wonder, inspiration, joy, excitement, adventure and possibility at discovering the amazing made accessible (in Herschel’s and Cortés’s findings, Chapman’s English). This expands one’s horizons with life’s mysteries (the nature of free will, whether Homer was a group or a person, whether the Trojan war is historical fact), beauty (in expressiveness, relatable characters and timeless themes) and grandeur (as
epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
ology, preserving Greek values and ideals of the good life). Before the poem was published, Keats altered "wondr'ing eyes" (in the original manuscript) to "eagle eyes" and "Yet could I never judge what Men could mean" (which was the seventh line even in the first publication in '' The Examiner'') to "Yet did I never breathe its pure serene".


Structure

This poem is a
Petrarchan sonnet The Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet, is a sonnet named after the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it was not developed by Petrarch himself, but rather by a string of Renaissance poets.Spiller, Michael R. G. The Devel ...
, also known as an Italian sonnet. It is divided into an
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
(the first 8 lines introducing the problem of not reading Homer) and a sestet (the last 6 lines introducing the solution of Chapman’s translation and how it makes Keats feel). It follows a
rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...
of ABBAABBACDCDCD. After the main idea has been introduced and the image played upon in the octave, the poem undergoes a volta (here “Then felt I…”), a change in the
persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
's train of thought. The octave offers the poet as a literary explorer, but the volta brings in the discovery of Chapman's Homer, the subject of which is further expanded through the use of imagery and comparisons which convey the poet's sense of awe at the discovery. As is typical of sonnets in English, the metre is
iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter ( ) is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in each line. Meter is measured in small groups of syllables called feet. "Iambi ...
though not all of the lines scan perfectly (line 12 has an extra syllable, for example).


Cultural references

*
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
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 Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The pl ...
. 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 of a very fat man called Cortez and transport them to a Peak in Darien, where it was hoped they would be more silent". The second is in a mock test paper, question 2 is "Outline joyfully (1) Henry VIII, (2) Stout Cortez." * Frances Power Cobbe analysed the poem in her essay "The Peak in Darien: the riddle of death" in ''The Peak in Darien with some other inquiries touching concerns of the soul and the body: an octave of essays'', Boston. 1882. *
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
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. * Charles Olson alludes to Keats's poem in his epic '' The Maximus Poems'' with the poem "On first Looking out through Juan de la Cosa's Eyes". * In a postscript to ''The Clicking of Cuthbert'',
P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
says "In the second chapter I allude to Stout Cortez staring at the Pacific. Shortly after the appearance of this narrative in serial form in America, I received an anonymous letter containing the words, "You big stiff, it wasn't Cortez, it was Balboa." On the other hand, if Cortez was good enough for Keats, he is good enough for me. Besides, even if it was Balboa, the Pacific was open to being stared at about that time, and I see no reason why Cortez should not have had a look at it as well." * In the
P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
novel ''The Inimitable Jeeves'',
Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intellige ...
states that his cousins "looked at each other, like those chappies in the poem, with a wild surmise." * In the
P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
novel ''Aunts Aren't Gentlemen'', when
Bertie Wooster Bertram Wilberforce Wooster is a fictional character in the comedic Jeeves stories created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. An amiable English gentleman and one of the "idle rich", Bertie appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose intellige ...
finds himself suddenly engaged, he states that he stood frozen, "eyes bulging like those of the fellows I've heard Jeeves mention, who looked at each other with a wild surmise, silent upon a peak in Darien." * In the
P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...
novel ''Uncle Fred in the Springtime'', Claude Pott's first encounter with Lord Bosham is described thus: "For a long instant he stood staring silently at Lord Bosham with the same undisguised interest which stout Cortez had once displayed when inspecting the Pacific. It is scarcely exaggerating to say that Mr Pott was feeling as if a new planet had swum into his ken." * The first chapter of
Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...
'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?" * Brian O'Nolan used Keats and Chapman as running characters in his "Cruiskeen Lawn" columns in the ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'', usually living out shaggy dog stories leading up to increasingly elaborate puns. * Freya Stark alludes to the poem in the title of "A Peak in Darien" (London, 1976). *
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...
refers to the poem in his novel ''
Pale Fire ''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic co ...
'' when the fictional poet John Shade mentions a newspaper headline that attributes a recent
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
victory to "Chapman's Homer" (i.e. to a
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
by a player named Chapman). * Australian poet Peter Porter opens the fourth of "The Sanitised Sonnets" with the allusion: "Much have I travelled in the realms of gold/ for which I thank the Paddington and Westminster/ Public Libraries" (London, 1970). * Gilbert Adair wrote a long article entitled "On First Looking into Chaplin's Humour". * Tobias Wolff references the last line of the sonnet ("Silent, upon a peak in Darien") in "Bullet in the Brain," which focuses on the death of a doomed critic obsessed with errors and mocking them. * In the Season 5 episode " Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning" of the sitcom ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'',
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
's character, Jack Donaghy, quotes the poem while musing on his new start as an executive for the company Kabletown.
Tracy Morgan Tracy Jamal Morgan (born November 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003, and played Tracy Jordan in the NBC sitcom ''30 Ro ...
's character, Tracy Jordan, later mentions "Stout Cortez" (his gardener), as well. * New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai created a monumental artwork entitled "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" for the Venice Biennale 2011. * 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 Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
, 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's title provides an indispensable pun—a clue to the reader about the subject of the pastiche. Davis writes how "stout Mantle" stood and "Watch’d his ball just rise and rise and rise – Silent, above a park in Washington." * The title of
Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...
's poem "On Looking into E. V. Rieu's Homer", about E. V. Rieu's Homer translations, is an allusion on the title of Keats's poem. * In
Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), popularly known by his pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirise Edwardian society and ...
's story "The Talking-out of Tarrington", a character is greeted with a silent-upon-a-peak-in-Darien' stare which denoted an absence of all previous acquaintance with the object scrutinised". * G. K. Chesterton, in his poem "The Logical Vegetarian", uses "I am silent on a bally peak in Darien" to mock vegetarian grandiosity. * In the second volume of
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
's autobiography, '' Brief Candle in the Dark'', he alludes to the poem in chapter three, "Lore of the Jungle", when he describes going mountain climbing in Panama (p. 43). * The
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
band
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
, used a phrase from the poem as the title of their song " Watcher of the Skies", on the 1972 album ''Foxtrot'', and specifically referred to subject matter of the poem with the line describing an interplanetary visitor to Earth who: "Raising his eyes beholds a planet unknown". * In the short story “Notes to My Biographer,” by Adam Haslett, the story’s unreliable narrator and protagonist quotes from this poem when addressing and hoping to inspire his adult son.


References


External links

*
Discusses the creation of the poem, and also shows the original manuscript.Chapman's Homer: The Iliads and The Odysseys
{{DEFAULTSORT:On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer Poetry by John Keats Sonnets 1816 poems Cultural depictions of Homer