# Apollo — Poetry character guide

> Apollo in Poetry by John Keats.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Eterne Apollo, the fair Apollo, Delphic Apollo, great Apollo, thee, thy

**First appearance:** 0006-ode-to-apollo

## Snapshot

The young god of poetry and light whose sudden, overwhelming awakening marks the birth of a new divine order.

## Who they are

Apollo enters Keats's Hyperion as the coming power, felt before he is fully seen, a presence that makes the fallen Titans tremble. When he finally speaks, his first words are a cry of bewildered intensity as knowledge and sorrow flood into him at once. His ascent is not a triumph but a kind of wounding, and that paradox is what makes him the poem's most modern figure.

## In the story

### [Ode to Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/ode-to-apollo)

Addressed as the god of bards, who inspires the poets in his western halls of gold.

### [On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/on-first-looking-into-chapman-s-homer)

Mentioned as the deity to whom bards hold the western islands in fealty.

### [To G. A. W.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/to-g-a-w)

Mentioned as a figure before whom the Graces trip, used as a standard of comparison.

### [To a Young Lady Who Sent Me a Laurel Crown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/to-a-young-lady-who-sent-me-a-laurel-crown)

Apollo's leaves are pressed against the speaker's temples, symbolizing poetic inspiration.

### [Epistle to My Brother George](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/epistle-to-my-brother-george)

Invoked as the god of poetry; the speaker fears he may never hear Apollo's song, yet later references Apollo's knowledge of the poet's visions.

### [Epistle to Charles Cowden Clarke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/epistle-to-charles-cowden-clarke)

Referenced in the context of 'Apollo's glories' as part of the stories told by Libertas.

### [Hymn to Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/hymn-to-apollo)

Addressed as Delphic Apollo, god of the golden bow, lyre, hair, and fire; his pity stills the thunder.

### [Sleep and Poetry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/sleep-and-poetry)

Invoked as the great god of poetry and light, the ultimate inspiration for the speaker's creative journey.

### [I Stood Tiptoe Upon a Little Hill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/i-stood-tiptoe-upon-a-little-hill)

Invoked as the god who bids marigolds open and who kisses the dew.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/iii)

Invoked by the Carian ('sacred Phœbus') and referenced in Glaucus's description of evening skies.

### [A Draught of Sunshine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/a-draught-of-sunshine)

Invoked as the God of Song and the Meridian, the source of the golden sunshine and the Delphian pain.

### [Acrostic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/acrostic)

Invoked to inspire the speaker with love for poetry and his sister.

### [Hyperion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/hyperion)

The young god who undergoes a painful transformation, anguishing as he receives divine knowledge from Mnemosyne.

### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/book-iii)

Apollo is the central figure of Book III, wandering in Delos, weeping, and seeking knowledge from Mnemosyne. He undergoes a painful transformation into a god.

### [Hyperion: A Vision](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/chapters/hyperion-a-vision)

Referenced as Moneta's foster-child and a figure of the golden age.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters/apollo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_14_se/characters