Vision and Perspective
"On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer" is about encountering a work of literature with new eyes, as though you were truly reading this work for the first time. Because of this, vision and perspective play a crucial role in the poem. Besides the poem's emphasis on things seen—the "western islands," Cortez staring into the Pacific, the astronomer watching the night sky—"Chapman's Homer" is visionary in nature. The speaker, by mentioning the various realms and kingdoms that make up Homer's domain, allows us to imagine the broad expanse of his world, filled with mythic sites, cities, and characters. The poem's volta in line 9 also signals a change in the speaker's vision and perspective, in the way he sees these sites he has already seen before.
Voyage and Discovery
The speaker's first encounter with Chapman's translations is associated with the promise of voyage and discovery. Although the speaker has already traveled throughout Homer's universe through previous readings of his epics, re-entering Homer's world through Chapman's take on his verse has broadened the scope of Homer's domain. The speaker may already know what lies before him, but the means by which he undertakes this journey transforms the experience into something fresh and new. Like Cortez surveying the ocean, or like an astronomer gazing upon a new planet, the speaker reads Chapman's Homer like a poet approaching a masterpiece. At the same time, these figures are looking for something, waiting to uncover their next great adventure, or hoping to add some new discovery to their knowledge, the same way the speaker looks upon Homer with new eyes.
Imagination
Because we know that the speaker isn't physically visiting Homer's universe, he must be imagining the realms, states, and kingdoms that make up the epic bard's domain. Likewise, the metaphors that follow the poem's volta in line 9 call attention to the way the speaker feels while reading Chapman's translation. The speaker attempts to articulate this sense of wonder by imagining how the Spanish explorer Cortez and an astronomer, two figures who make it their business to challenge the boundaries of the known world, must feel as they approach their next discovery. Additionally, reading a poem, or a hearing a poem spoken out loud, requires a fair degree of imagination: although Homer's epics are printed on the page or orally recited, the true journey takes place in the speaker's mind.
The Pleasure of Reading
Finally, a major theme hiding beneath the poem's emphasis on vision, discovery, and imagination is the pleasure of reading. The speaker's sense of wonder is ultimately derived from the joy he experiences through Chapman's Homer. The profundity of Chapman's translation imbues the adventure, danger, and excitement of Homer's universe with new life—the story, which has already left its powerful impression upon the speaker, is made greater by its literary quality.
