Chapman's Homer

I really like Keats’s idea about how Chapman’s translation opened him to new ideas and knowledge, seen with his comparison to it being like a new discovery. Going back to our discussion last class period, we talked a lot about the belief of needing the poet to facilitate ideas and express the opinions of man, while still remaining progressive. I think Keats presents the idea of how literary text has the ability to teach, inform, and expand the realm of perspective/knowledge. In fact, Keats starts off by leading the reader to believe he is talking about riches and advances in expedition abilities, just so he can upset this idea by saying he gained all of what is ordinarily gained by riches and travel in literature. It is almost like he is saying that while technological advances and monetary advances are valued, it is literature that advances the mind, and it is literature that is necessary for true progression and betterment in society.