One of the most famous "first reading" experiences in all literature is celebrated by John Keats in his famous sonnet, "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer."

To explore this further start by going to the following link to read Keats' poem.

• Representative Poetry Online's digital copy of Keats' On First Looking into Chapman's Homer. <http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/keats2.html>
• You will want to read the notes, especially the tracing of the sources for Keats' image of the archetypal explorer atop the mountain peak surveying the scene of discovery below as analogous to the expansion of mind and spirit the discovery of a new work brings.

Once you have formed your own appreciation of Keats, you may want to explore this site which presents line by line annotations as well as interpretations for the allusions:

• Lila Melani on this poem: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/homer.html

Then read this brief testimonial to the effect of this poem:

• William J. Dean, "A reluctant reader sets sail for literature's far shores" in Christian Science Monitor 12 April 2001 <http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/04/12/fp23s2-csm.shtml>
• What poem would you memorize?
  

"On First Reading. . ."

Try writing a short description of a reading experience you remember. Make it vivid but not long--a few hundred words would do. Or if you are really ambitious, try a sonnet emulating Keats' sonnet.

Reflect on a time when you remember reading something that made an impression on you as strong as Chapman's Homer on Keats. The mere fact that you can remember it is a good place to start. The focus here is on the fact that you responded while reading. Keep in mind that while Keats responded positively, you may have responded negatively or not at all the way you were expected to respond. Still the experience involved some sort of strong response for some explainable reason.

Describe that reading experience. Tell about the situation, make it a story of your encounter with this text. Your goal is to tell what has made it memorable. There are many things you might include. Where and when did this reading occur? Was anyone else strategically involved? What did you read; how long did you take to do it; where is the actual physical text located now? Have you ever read it again? What lasting effects, if any, did the reading have on you? Include anything which strikes you as important while you reflect on this reading. (If you are having trouble, why not write about one of the unmemorable things you read or left unread. What was that experience like?)

If you explored links for Keats you learned that he shared this first reading experience of Chapman's Homer with a friend. Keats also creates in the poem's final metaphor a sharing of the thrill of discovery. Cortez is part of a group,

. . .and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise--
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

Did your first reading in the situation you are exploring involve a group? Was there any "wild surmise" among you?

Other things to think about: What does this focused description of a reading experience tell you about yourself reading? What does it tell you about the reading process or the ideas and values concerning reading that shape our responses?