Keats' Ode to the Classics

John Keats' famed sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" is both a direct glorification of classical Roman and Grecian philosophy and a glorification of Keats' motherland, England. Keats appreciates the classics by perfectly imitating a Petrarchan Sonnet, with the rhyme structure ABBACDDCEFGEFG. This is significant because this style of sonnet was expressed in many ancient poems and its structure is derived from classical works. Keats', adversely, glorifies his motherland with the mention of Chapman's "Homer". George Chapman was a famous British poet and translator and it is only through this translation, the British translation, that Keats can feel the glory and magnificence of the ancient age. Keats compares Chapman to Homer, in a sense, the original "watcher of the skies" who through his translation transferred that emotional resonance to Keats himself. Keats diminishes his own power, modestly, additionally comparing himself to Homer's audience, blight and almost ignorant until the magic words hit their ears.