Analysis of Exiles
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
It goes on being Alexandria still. Just walk a bit
along the straight road that ends at the Hippodrome
and you'll see palaces and monuments that will amaze you.
Whatever war-damage it's suffered,
however much smaller it's become,
it's still a wonderful city.
And then, what with excursions and books
and various kinds of study, time does go by.
In the evenings we meet on the sea front,
the five of us (all, naturally, under fictitious names)
and some of the few other Greeks
still left in the city.
Sometimes we discuss church affairs
(the people here seem to lean toward Rome)
and sometimes literature.
The other day we read some lines by Nonnos:
what imagery, what rhythm, what diction and harmony!
All enthusiasm, how we admired the Panopolitan.
So the days go by, and our stay here
isn't unpleasant because, naturally,
it's not going to last forever.
We've had good news: if something doesn't come
of what's now afoot in Smyrna,
then in April our friends are sure to move from Epiros,
so one way or another, our plans are definitely working out,
and we'll easily overthrow Basil.
And when we do, at last our turn will come.
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJKFLBMGFNOFMENGPQE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11110010011101 01011111010 011100010011011 10110110 10110101 11010010 011101001 010011101111 0010111011 011111000100101 01101101 110010 01101101 0101111011 0011000 0101111111 11001101100100 101001101001 1011101011 10010011000 111011010 1111110101 11101010 1010101111111 111101010111000101 011001010 01111110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,110 |
Words | 201 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 27 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 884 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 199 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 128 Views
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"Exiles" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7137/exiles>.
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