Analysis of In Sparta
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
He didn't know, King Kleomenis, he didn't dare—
he just did not know how to tell his mother
a thing like this: that Ptolemy demanded,
to guarantee their treaty, that she too go to Egypt
and be held there as a hostage—
a very humiliating, indecorous thing.
And he would be about to speak yet always hesitate,
would start to tell her yet always stop.
But the magnificent woman understood him
(she had already heard some rumors about it)
and she encouraged him to come out with it clearly.
And she laughed, saying of course she would go,
indeed was happy that in her old age
she could be useful to Sparta still.
As for the humiliation—that didn't touch her at all.
Of course an upstart like the Lagid
couldn't possibly comprehend the Spartan spirit;
so his demand could not in fact humiliate
a Royal Lady like herself:
mother of a Spartan king.
Scheme | XXAXXBCX XXXXXX XAXCXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101111101 11111111110 01111100010 1011101111110 01111010 010010011 011101111110 11110111 10010010011 110101110011 0101011111110 0111011111 0111010011 111101101 11000101101011 1111101 101000101010 11011101010 01010101 1010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 838 |
Words | 155 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 221 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 71 Views
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