Saturn wrote:http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/jun/20/homer
No, not a study of Keats' poem, but a look at Chapman's wonderful Homer translations [Keats' poem is mentioned further down]. I've read the whole of Chapman's Illiad and Odyssey and I can concour with Keats that it is quite an experience.
Apart from Pope's Augustan, rhetorical Illiad and more recently, Fitzgerald's concise and Fagles' brilliant modern verse translations, Chapman's Homer is the most poetical and, if cumbersome, the most enjoyable and surprising versions of Homer in English. I'd advise any lover of Keats, and lover of poetry in general to grab a copy of Chapman if you can find one.
Thanks for the figurative kick in the seat, Saturn.
I've been meaning to read this literally for years.
I was able to find George Chapman's translation on line here:
http://www.bartelby.com/111/index.htmlJust quickly skimming things, I noted the wonderful round, smooth, satisfying repetition of "O" sounds in the last four lines of book two:
"
They offer'd up. Of all yet throned above,
They most observed the grey-eyed seed of Jove;
Who, from the evening till the morning rose,
And all day long, their voyage did dispose. "
I know Benjamin Bailey mentioned that Keats had a theory about the use of open and closed vowels and how judicious use of certain vowel-sounds could contribute to the success of a poem.
Does anybody know more about this?
I've noticed that some vowel sounds are soothing like a gentle breeze, others are stimulating like a cup of strong coffee. But just repeating a vowel sound for its own sake adds nothing to the poem and can even damage it, just as simply hitting the correct notes on a keyboard does not make for a great musical performance.