The English poet, dramatist, and translator George Chapman (1559-1634) is best known for his rhyming verse translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

George Chapman was born in Hitchen, a country town near London. He may have attended Oxford, although he claimed to have been selftaught. He spent a few years in the household of a nobleman and in 1591-1592 was engaged in military service on the Continent.

Chapman became an important literary figure with the publication of his first work, The Shadow of Night (1594). This obscure philosophical poem has led some to speculate that Chapman at this time belonged to the "School of Night"--a group of avant-garde thinkers who supposedly challenged traditional beliefs. Although the existence of such a formal "school" is still in doubt, it is clear that Chapman was acquainted with some of the more exciting thinkers of his day.

Chapman's reputation as a man...