Analysis of When They Come Alive

Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)



Try to keep them, poet,
those erotic visions of yours,
however few of them there are that can be stilled.
Put them, half-hidden, in your lines.
Try to hold them, poet,
when they come alive in your mind
at night or in the noonday brightness.


Scheme ABCDAEF
Poetic Form
Metre 111110 10101011 10111111111 11110011 111110 11101011 11100110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 242
Words 47
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 7
Lines Amount 7
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 185
Words per stanza (avg) 45
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

14 sec read
37

Constantine P. Cavafy

Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poems; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday. more…

All Constantine P. Cavafy poems | Constantine P. Cavafy Books

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