Analysis of Of the Jews (50 A.D.)

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



Painter and poet, runner and discus-thrower,
beautiful as Endymion: Ianthis, son of Antony.
From a family on friendly terms with the Synagogue.

"My most valuable days are those
when I give up the pursuit of sensuous beauty,
when I desert the elegant and severe cult of Hellenism,
with its over-riding devotion
to perfectly shaped, corruptible white limbs,
and become the man I would want to remain forever:
son of the Jews, the holy Jews."

A most fervent declaration on his part: "...to remain forever
a son of the Jews, the holy Jews."

But he did not remain anything of the kind.
The Hedonism and Art of Alexandria
kept him as their dedicated son.


Scheme ABX XBXCXAD AD XXC
Poetic Form
Metre 100101001010 10011111100 1010011011010 11100111 1111001110010 1110010000111100 111010010 11001010011 00101111101010 11010101 0110010111101010 011010101 11110110101 01000110100 111110001
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 645
Words 118
Sentences 8
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 7, 2, 3
Lines Amount 15
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 127
Words per stanza (avg) 28
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

34 sec read
113

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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    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
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