Preparatory.—Compare other passages from literature which suggest the "music of the spheres," for example: Dryden's Song for Saint Cecilia's Day, The Moonlight Scene from The Merchant of Venice, Milton's The Hymn.
What is the atmosphere of ll. 1-4? Of ll. 5-14? In what two different Qualities of voice do the corresponding feelings find expression?
Read ll. 6-11, with a view to Perspective.
Note the Grouping in ll. 9-11.
ON FIRST LOOKING INTO CHAPMAN'S HOMER
Much have I travelled in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been, Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told5 That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet never did I breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken;10 Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He stared at the Pacific—and all his men Looked at each other with a wild surmise— Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
—John Keats
Preparatory.—How is the fundamental idea of this sonnet illustrated in The Key to Human Happiness? (p. [266].)
What feeling pervades the last six lines? In which line is this feeling most marked? In what Quality of voice does it find expression? (Introduction, pp. [33]-35.)