That's The Man

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



Unknown -a stranger in Antioch- the man from Edessa
writes and writes. And at last, there,
the final canto's done. That makes

eighty-three poems in all. But so much writing,
so much versifying, the intense strain
of phrasing in Greek, has worn the poet out,
and now everything has gone stale.

But a thought suddenly brings him out of his dejection:
the sublime 'That's the man'
which Lucian once heard in his sleep.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

23 sec read
60

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXA XBXX BXX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 415
Words 75
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 3

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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