Analysis of In the Boring Village

Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)



In the boring village where he works—
clerk in a textile shop, very young—
and where he's waiting out the two or three months ahead,
another two or three months until business falls off
so he can leave for the city and plunge headlong
into its action, its entertainment;
in the boring village where he's waiting out the time—
he goes to bed tonight full of sexual longing,
all his youth on fire with the body's passion,
his lovely youth given over to a fine intensity.
And in his sleep pleasure comes to him;
in his sleep he sees and has the figure, the flesh he longed for...


Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKL
Poetic Form
Metre 001010111 10011101 0111010111101 0101111011011 11111010011 011101010 0010101110101 1111011110010 111110101010 110110101010100 001110111 011110101001111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 579
Words 110
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 38
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 451
Words per stanza (avg) 108
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
46

Constantine P. Cavafy

Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poems; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday. more…

All Constantine P. Cavafy poems | Constantine P. Cavafy Books

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