Analysis of Priest at the Serapeum

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



My dear old father,
who always loved me the same;
my dear old father I lament
who died the day before yesterday, just before dawn.

Jesus Christ, it is my daily effort
to observe the precepts
of Thy most holy church in all my acts,
in all words, in all thoughts.
And all those who renounce Thee
I shun.-- But now I lament;
I bewail, Christ, for my father
although he was -- a horrible thing to say --
a priest at the accursed Serapeum.


Scheme ABCX XXXXXCAXB
Poetic Form
Metre 11110 111101 11110101 110101101011 1011111010 10101 1111010111 011011 0111011 1111101 1111110 1110100111 011011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 430
Words 88
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 9
Lines Amount 13
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 166
Words per stanza (avg) 43
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
104

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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