Analysis of Herodis Attikos
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
What glory, this, for Herodis Attikos!
Alexander of Selefkia, one of our better sophists,
on reaching Athens to lecture
finds the city deserted
because Herodis was in the country and all the young men
had followed him there to hear him.
This makes sophist Alexander
write Herodis a letter
begging him to send the Greeks back.
And the tactful Herodis answers at once:
'Along with the Greeks, I'm coming too.'
How many young men now in Alexandria,
in Antioch or Beirut
(being trained by Hellenism as its future orators),
meeting at choice banquets
where the talk is sometimes about fine sophistry,
sometimes about their exquisite love affairs,
suddenly find their attention wandering and fall silent?
Their glasses untouched,
they think about Herodis' fortune-
what other sophist has been given this kind of honour?
Whatever his wish, whatever he does,
the Greeks (the Greeks!) follow him,
not to criticize or debate,
not even to choose any longer,
only to follow.
Scheme | AABXXCBBXAX XXAABAXXXBACXBX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101111 010111110101 11010110 1010010 0111001001011 11011111 111010 11010 10111011 001011011 011011101 11011100100 010101 10111001110100 101110 1011010111 01011100101 100110101000110 11001 1101110 110111101111 10111011 0101101 1110101 110111010 10110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 945 |
Words | 163 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 15 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 386 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 80 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 62 Views
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"Herodis Attikos" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/7151/herodis-attikos>.
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