Analysis of A Great Procession of Priests and Laymen
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
A procession of priests and laymen—
each walk of life represented—
moves through streets, squares, and gates
of the famous city, Antioch.
At the head of this imposing procession
a handsome white-clad boy
carries the Cross, his arms raised—
our strength and hope, the holy Cross.
The pagans, lately so full of arrogance,
now reticent and cowardly,
quickly slink away from the procession.
Let them keep their distance, always keep their distance from us
(as long as they do not renounce their errors).
The holy Cross goes forward; it brings joy and consolation
to every quarter where Christians live;
and these God-fearing people, elated,
stand in their doorways and greet it reverently,
the strength, the salvation of the universe, the Cross.
This is an annual Christian festival.
But today, you see, it is more conspicuous.
The empire is delivered at last.
The vile, the appalling Julian
reigns no longer.
For most pious Jovian let us give our prayers.
Scheme | ABXXAXXCXDAEXAXBDC XEXAX X |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 001011010 1111010 111101 10101010 10111010010 010111 1001111 101010101 0110111100 11000100 1010110010 1111101111011 11111101110 01011101110010 1100101101 0111010010 10110111000 010010101001 11110010100 101111110100 0100101011 010010100 1110 1110100111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 946 |
Words | 160 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 18, 5, 1 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 253 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 53 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 45 Views
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