Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMER, by JOHN KEATS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMER, by             Poem Explanation     Poet's Biography
First Line: Much have I traveled in the realms of gold
Last Line: Silent, upon a peak in darien.
Variant Title(s): To The Adventurous
Subject(s): Books; Chapman, George (1559-1634); Homer (10th Century B.c.); Poetry & Poets; Thought; Translating & Interpreting; Reading; Iliad; Odyssey; Thinking


Much have I travelled 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.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
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;
Or like stout Cortez, when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific -- and all his men
Looked at each other with a wild surmise --
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.





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