Analysis of Understanding
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
The years of my youth, my sensual life --
how clearly I see their meaning now.
What needless repentances, how futile....
But I did not understand the meaning then.
In the dissolute life of my youth
the desires of my poetry were being formed,
the scope of my art was being plotted.
This is why my repentances were never stable.
And my resolutions to control myself, to change
lasted for two weeks at the very most.
| Scheme | XX A X XXX AXX |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Etheree (20%) |
| Metre | 0111111001 110111101 1101110 1111010101 0011111 0010111000101 0111111010 1111101010 01010101111 1011110101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 412 |
| Words | 78 |
| Sentences | 7 |
| Stanzas | 5 |
| Stanza Lengths | 2, 1, 1, 3, 3 |
| Lines Amount | 10 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 32 |
| Words per line (avg) | 8 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 65 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 23 sec read
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"Understanding" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7278/understanding>.
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