on first looking into chapmans homer Flashcards
(31 cards)
context
homer was a greek poet who was legendary author to whom the authorship of liad and odyessy (two epic peoms that are the foundational works of greek literature) he is reguarded one of the greatest and most influencial authros of all time. Virgil refers toi him as “poet sovereign”-king of all poets. The liad is set during the Trojan War and the ten year seige if the city if Troy focussing on the quarrel beytween King Agamemon anbd the warror Achilles
Chapman
achieved fame as a translator of great literary works in particialt his translation if Homer long remained a standard english version aside from Alaxander Popes. t was completed in 1611 and his version of the dessy appeared in 1616. His ima was to covert Greek and Latin poetry ti native english and calims as well an attempt to surpass his predeccessors
the poem is a response to what?
the aimginative power and vsion of both homer, the ancient greek poet and George chapman. The most widely read version f homer available to readers of Keats day had to that point been tghe one of alexander pope and eighteenth century poet whose rhyming couplet translation whilst being rational and ordely laked the raw power of the orgianl greek.
‘speaking out loud and bold’
he is making a clear distinction between the more robust and rugged style og chapman and the elegantly blached and controlled version of the pope
neoclassism and romantiism
they are frequently viewed as rectionary movements that arose from different historical periods. The principle distinction between neoclassim and romanticism is that neoclassim focuses on objectivity reason and intellect ajd romanticism is concerned with human creativity. Romantic movement was influenced by art and literature of the medival period wheres neoclassim derives influence from ancient greek culture-alaxander pope was recognised as a neo-classical writer
cowden Clarke
invited keats to his rooms in Clerkenwell to show him a book taht was being passed around and iyt was george chammpns translation if homer. keats anmd clarke read the volume until 6 in the morning ingh and keats immediatley went adn wrote the sonnet, obvsiously pleased with what he had written he posted it straifght away.
chapman
he was well known not only for his translation ofg homer but offering interpretations if homers ethical and philsophical viewes in ways Chapman tjought approariate for his own age
ummary of the poem
keats comapres the joy he found in reading the translation to that of an astomer discovering a new planet or the spanish exploer and coliner Cortez upon the first sight if the pacic ocean
how was the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries characterised?
a quest not only to discover hut cliam and colonise the riches of new found lands. Exploerers were as much dirven by the promise if vast wealth as they were the excitemnet of discovery. In keats era he consequent wealth of the British empire was a source of pride. Therefore keats use of the image if exploers appropriation wleath as a positive metaphor for the riches he has tacken from champmans translation ofg homers-reading it he describes asd ‘realms of gold’
langauge
the first of keats poems in which emotion is fully controlled and sustained throughout the verse-s it is even more remarkable that keats wrote this so quickly ‘low bowed homer’ beacme ‘deep borwed’ the diction is expertly handled
the openess to the vast sea if womder
suggested by the long vowels ‘wild’ surmise’ ‘sielnt’ the sense of wondering taping iff into the unstressed syllanbles if the poems final world ‘ Darien”
lingusitic effects
seeries of emphathetic monosyllables with hard consonants and long resonant vowels many of wich gain extra emphasis by being placed as ryhme words ‘gold’ ‘told’ ‘loud and bold’
structure
petrachian sonnet and keats uses this structure as integral to understanding the meaning of the poem. Common petrachan sonnets the rhyme scheme is abbbaabba and the octabe is cdecde in the sestet.
what is the octave dominated by
the theme of exploration and metaphor of the poet being a literary adventurer.
how does teh sestet develop?
it develips the theme of discovery wuth the use if similes to convey keats sense of wonder.
“yet” “till” ‘then”
turning point to a breathless cliam wich dramatically captures the sense of wonder of the explorer
‘-SILENT”
SILENT COMING AFTER A MOMENTORY PAUSE FGIVE AN AWESTRICK TONE OF THE FINAL LINE EVEN MORE EMPHASIS
‘states and kindoms’ “island’ “new planet” “the pacific”
keats presents himself as one of the exploers of the poast giving his explorations in the realm of literaure a similar sense to that of heroism
‘cortez with eagle eyes’
the mage of Cortez awstrick silence at the sight if the pacific oceans vastness is vividly dramatic-especially when contrasted by mens ‘wild sumise’ as they try to guess what have elicited sych a reponse in theri ‘stout’ leader.
‘new planet’
keats school of readingt is evidnet in his refernce to the new okanet as the words echo the vivid description of herchels dicovery of the planet oif uranus an astrony priase was given to keats in school
keats claiming his poetic vocation
poetry is seen here as an imaginative conquest-the peom marks the turning point in keats development- the full power if the God Apollo has been revealed to him and there is no doubt jkeats has found his literary vocation- he has discivered his true poetic self.
‘about exclusion as well as inclusion’
we can understand keats humble background and teh diea that he cae late to high culture.
“round many western islands have i been”
metaphorical meaning- for example ‘islands’ could represent literature, therefore literarly Keats have read many books however it could also remberesent how much knowledge he is yet to obtain due to his outsider status. Islands on the aegan sea-islands are where create things happn odessy and his group on their joueny home.
