Analysis of Caesarion
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
Partly to verify an era,
partly also to pass the time,
last night I picked up a collection
of Ptolemaic epigrams to read.
The plentiful praises and flatteries
for everyone are similar. They are all brilliant,
glorious, mighty, beneficent;
each of their enterprises the wisest.
If you talk of the women of that breed, they too,
all the Berenices and Cleopatras are admirable.
When I had managed to verify the era
I would have put the book away, had not a small
and insignificant mention of king Caesarion
immediately attracted my attention.....
Behold, you came with your vague
charm. In history only a few
lines are found about you,
and so I molded you more freely in my mind.
I molded you handsome and sentimental.
My art gives to your face
a dreamy compassionate beauty.
And so fully did I envision you,
that late last night, as my lamp
was going out -- I let go out on purpose --
I fancied that you entered my room,
it seemed that you stood before me; as you might have been
in vanquished Alexandria,
pale and tired, idealistic in your sorrow,
still hoping that they would pity you,
the wicked -- who whispered "Too many Caesars."
Scheme | AXBXCDDXEF AXBB XEEXFCXEXCXXAXEC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 10110110 10101101 111110010 1010111 01001001 110110011110 10010010 111100010 111101011111 1010111000 11110110010 111101011101 0010010111 010000101010 0111111 101001001 111011 011101110011 1101100010 111111 010010010 0110110101 1111111 11011111110 110111011 1111101111111 0100100 101000100110 110111101 01011011010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,112 |
Words | 207 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 4, 16 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 296 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 68 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 132 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Caesarion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7122/caesarion>.
Discuss this Constantine P. Cavafy poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In