Page 65 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit
P. 65
“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”
by John Keats, pages 42-43
Vocabulary
fealty – oath of loyalty
demesne – territory, domain
ken – view, sight
1. At the start of this poem, how does the speaker establish himself as well cultured?
The speaker tells the reader that he has “much travell’d,” and “many goodly states and
kingdoms seen.” He later states he has “Round many western islands been,” where he has
heard bards speak in praise of Apollo, and heard of the accomplishments of Homer.
2. The speaker uses two different similes to compare the experience hearing Chapman’s
translation of Homer. Which of these similes is an allusion?
The speaker first compares hearing Chapman’s Homer to gazing into the skies and
suddenly discovering a new planet. However, the allusion is the second simile, in which the
speaker compares the hearing to what it must have been like when Cortez first sighted the
Pacific.
T-47
