Analysis of When the Watchman Saw the Light
Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)
Winter, summer, the watchman sat there looking out
from the roof of Atreus' palace.
Now he has good news to report. He's seen the fire light up
in the distance and he's happy; besides, the drudgery's over now:
it's hard to sit there night and day in heat and cold,
waiting for a fire to show
on the peak of Arachnaion.
Now the longed-for signal has appeared. Yet when happiness comes
it brings less joy than one expected.
But at least we've gained this much: we've rid ourselves
of hope and expectation. Many things will happen
to the house of Atreus: no need to be wise
to guess this now the watchman has seen the light.
So let's not exaggerate.
The light is good; and those coming are good,
their words and actions also good.
And let's hope all goes well.
But Argos can do without the house of Atreus.
Ancient houses are not eternal.
Of course many people will have much to say.
We should listen. But we won't be deceived
by words such as Indispensable, Unique, and Great.
Someone else indispensable and unique and great
can always be found at a moment's notice.
Scheme | ABCDEFDGHIJKLMNNOBPQRMMB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101001011101 1011110 111111011101011 001001100101101 111111010101 10101011 10111 101110101111001 111111010 111111111001 110010101110 1011111111 11110101101 111010 0111011011 11010101 011111 1111010111 101011010 11101011111 1110111101 111101000101 11010000101 1111101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,049 |
Words | 197 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 24 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 830 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 195 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 115 Views
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