Introduction
The poem was written by John Keats when he was 20 years old. It explains how the author was astonished when reading the works of the ancient Greek poet Homer, a translation by the Elizabethan playwright George Chapman (Howard). Keats used various approaches to express himself in writing the poem. In this regard, the paper explores different ways the poem’s criticism, psychoanalytic, and post-colonial methodologies have been used.
Criticism
The poem is about the translation of Homer by the Greek poet George Chapman. It describes a profound reading experience that the whole world seems to come to life (Howard). As an Elizabethan poet, most of the interpretations created appeared to explain the reader’s experience more than loyalty to the original form. Therefore, the speaker closely reads the translation to discover the meaning of the original poem.
Psychoanalytic
The poem is set up in an extended metaphor that characterizes the speaker as an explorer. Through the power of literature, the speaker bravely discovers new imaginative worlds. Thus, in Homer’s writing, the speaker can visit a different time, culture, and location that otherwise would not have been accessible (Howard). Therefore, using the speaker as an example, the poem suggests that all readers can use literature to create sensations of a lived experience.
Post-Colonial
The influential poet William Wordsworth was explicitly interested in the idea of civil liberties. The poem shadows the post-colonial era in that it was written not long after the American Revolution and the French Revolution, which facilitated the rise of Napoleon to power (Howard). The line “which bards in fealty to Apollo hold” gestures towards the daily ceremonial significance of poetry in Ancient Greece (Howard). In addition, the poem has a broad historical scope, drawing a link between Homer’s time and Keats’ era. These connections create a case for the power of literature as a cultural force.
Conclusion
Conclusively, the paper has examined different ways the author used criticism, psychoanalytic, and post-colonial methodologies in writing the poem. For instance, the author uses criticism to explain personal experiences such that the world seems to come to life. Although the author did not visit the areas mentioned in the poem, the reader thinks the experiences were real. Therefore, through psychoanalytic, the author uses literature to create a sense of a lived experience.
Work Cited
Howard, James. “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer.” LitCharts, 2019. Web.