Analysis of The God Abandons Anthony
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession going by
with exquisite music, voices,
don't mourn your luck that's failing now,
work gone wrong, your plans
all proving deceptive -- don't mourn them uselessly.
As one long prepared, and graced with courage,
say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving.
Above all, don't fool yourself, don't say
it was a dream, your ears deceived you:
don't degrade yourself with empty hopes like these.
As one long prepared, and graced with courage,
as is right for you who were given this kind of city,
go firmly to the window
And listen with deep emotion, but not
with whining, the pleas of a coward;
listen -- your final delectation -- to the voices,
to the exquisite music of that strange procession,
and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing.
Scheme | abcdefGhijkGlmnocph |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001111 10100010101 11001010 11111101 11111 1100101111 1110101110 1110001001110 011110111 110111011 10101110111 1110101110 11111101011110 1101010 0101101011 110011010 1011011010 1010010111010 011101001001110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 805 |
Words | 144 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 19 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 636 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 142 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 184 Views
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"The God Abandons Anthony" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7244/the-god-abandons-anthony>.
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