actividad escolar cavafy

7/27/2019 Actividad Escolar Cavafy

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/actividad-escolar-cavafy 1/5

GREECE: The journey to Ithaca: Cavafy’s readings of the human soul

by A. MakrinosWhere Homer decided to halt and put a full stop, it is difficult

and dangerous for anyone else to wish to continue. But it is in the

difficult and dangerous tasks that great craftsmen are successful.

C. P. Cavafy on Ithaca.

Constantine Petrou Cavafy was born into a rich Greek family on 29

April 18! in Ale"an#ria$ a city with hi%h numbers of Greek populationat the time. Cavafy&s parents ori%inate# from Constantinople 'mo#ern

(stanbul) an# move# to Ale"an#ria in 18**. Cavafy was the ninth an#

last chil#. (n 18+,$ his father #ie# an# two years later$ Cavafy move#

to%ether with his family to -n%lan# where he was e#ucate# an# learnt

e"cellent -n%lish. After five years in iverpool an# on#on$ in 18+8 he

returne# to Ale"an#ria an# finishe# his stu#ies in the famous Greek

colle%e /0ermes. (n 1882$ because of the e"plosive political con#ition

in -%ypt$ Cavafy&s family move# to Constantinople. 0owever$ three

years later they returne# permanently to Ale"an#ria.

he poet live# all his life in Ale"an#ria apart from short trips in 189+ to Paris an# on#on an# four visits to

Greece '19,1$ 19,!$ 19,*$ 19!2). (n 1892 because of financial problems Cavafy was force# to take a 3ob in

the -%yptian Government&s (rri%ation 4ffice where he was employe# for more than !, years.

0is life in Ale"an#ria was monotonous an# lonely. (nitially he staye# with one of his brothers but later on he

live# alone. (n the last years of his life he en3oye# the appreciation of his Ale"an#rian frien#s but overall he

preferre# loneliness an# isolation. 0e never stu#ie# in a university but his personal stu#ies 'mainly of

0istory) enable# him to ac5uire #eep knowle#%e of 6rench an# -n%lish literature. 0e spoke -n%lish$ 6rench

an# (talian. 0is ac5uaintance with the cosmopolitan centres of his time 'on#on$ Constantinople$

Ale"an#ria) e5uippe# him with si%nificant life e"perience. (n the summer of 19!2$ he was #ia%nose# with

laryn" cancer an# he then visite# Athens in or#er to be treate#7 althou%h he staye# in Greece for four months$

his con#ition worsene# an# finally he #ie# in a hospital of Ale"an#ria on his birth#ay$ 29 April 19!!.

Cavafy was an eccentric$ stran%e an# #ifficult character. hrou%hout his life he remaine# eclectic an# asceticas he stru%%le# to reconcile with his sensuous eroticism an# his homose"uality. 0e fre5uently felt tormente#

by the %uilt of a conservative an# hostile society which was incapable to accept his eroticism an# a Christian

reli%ious back%roun# which was not compatible with his passions. oneliness an# isolation were the main

features of his every#ay life an# they are transforme# into melancholic pessimism an# sometimes

#esperation in his poetry. Cavafy felt that he ha# to preserve his humanity by resistin% whatever causes the

moral #ecline of the human bein% an# by preservin% his heroic #i%nity a%ainst failure an# #eath.

0e is often characterise# as the /poet of the ol# a%e because he has pro#uce# his masterpieces an# ac5uire#

his #istinct poetic features after he has reache# the a%e of maturity. 0e was not born a poet$ he became one.

0e mana%e# to fin# his poetic voice after 1911 an# he printe# his poems in a few copies which he offere#

only a few frien#s without ever publishin% them in a collection. he complete works of Cavafy '1* poems

source

http::uploa#.wikime#ia.or%:wikipe#ia:

commons:e:ec:Cavafy19,,;portrait.3p%$ P<$

=!1.+.2,11>

Greek stamp with Cavafy '198!)source http::cavafis.compupress.%r:

cavafy*.htm$ =!1.+.2,11>1



in total) were publishe# for the first time in 19!* un#er the title Poems7 later on an e#ition of his repu#iate#$

hi##en an# unfinishe# poems has also been prepare#. Cavafy is a #ramatic poet who summarises in his 28,

poems the an"iety of the human soul when face# with the %reatest obstacles of life loneliness$ isolation$

sorrow$ #espair$ #an%er$ corruption$ #estruction of love$ vanity$ ol# a%e an# #eath. 0is poetry is centre# on

the human bein%. 0is prota%onists #o not blee# an# are not crashe# by the #ifficulties but preserve their

#i%nity an# bravery an# face failure with coura%e.

?hilst pro#ucin% poetry$ Cavafy wrote a lot but publishe# little. Althou%h he is influence# by romanticism

an# symbolism 'especially in his early poems)$ his writin% is ori%inal an# possesses classical 5uality. 0isverse is free$ iambic without rhymin%7 his lan%ua%e is the #emotic Greek of the people of Ale"an#ria with

collo5uialisms. 0is style is prose$ with clarity of e"pression an# precision an# without complicate#

#ecorative elements 'a#3ectives or fi%ures of speech). 4ther features of his poetry are his irony$ his #i#actic

an# refle"ive tone$ the buil#in% of #ramatic atmosphere$ the use of symbols an# the theatricality of his

settin%s. Most of his themes are taken from the Greek historical past 'especially from the 0ellenistic an#

@oman perio#s but also from Ancient Greece an# yBantium) an# the real worl# 'a part of these e"periences

ori%inate from his homose"uality). 0is prota%onists are either real or fictional an# the unknown #etails of

their lives stimulate Cavafy&s poetic ima%ination.

0is inspiration is tri%%ere# by the worl# of memories7 Cavafy usually takes from the /#rawers of his min#

an ima%e or a set of memories an# transforms them into a poetic i#ea. 0e has #ivi#e# his poems into

historical$ alle%orical 'philosophical) an# erotic but this cate%orisation is conventional7 most of the poems

belon% to several of those cate%ories.Cavafy&s work was initially receive# in Greece with scepticism. here have been many reactions an# stron%

criticism by establishe# intellectuals such as Psycharis1 or Palamas2 because his poetry oppose# the

conventional poetic rules in Athens at the time an# the movement of #emoticism. ! Cavafy became known in

Greece because of Gr. enopoulos who praise# him in an article in the ma%aBine Panathinaia. Dince then$

mo#ern Greek poets$ musicians an# other artists have been influence# by Cavafy&s poetry an# refer to him as

their teacher. 0e is consi#ere# to be one of the most important Mo#ern Greek poets with international

reco%nition an# his work has been translate# in more than 2,, lan%ua%es all over the worl#.

Ithaca was written in 1911 an# was publishe# in the Ale"an#rian ma%aBine Grammata. he first version of

the poem was written in 189 an# was entitle# The Second dyssey. (t belon%s to the cate%ory of

mytholo%ical;#i#actic poems an# Cavafy #raws inspiration from 0omer&s dyssey$ Petronius& !"hortatio ad

#lissem$ <ante&s $i%ine &omedy an# ennyson&s #lysses. he central i#ea of the poem is that people settin%

out for a purpose in their life ac5uire knowle#%e an# e"perience which are superior to this cause.

1

*

ΙΘΑΚΗ1 (1911)

Σὰ βγεῖς στὸν πηγαιμὸ2 γιὰ τὴν Ἰθάη!

νὰ ε"#εσαι ν$ναι μα%&ς ' %μ*ς!

γεμάτ*ς πε%ιπ+τειες!, γεμάτ*ς γν-σεις./

0*&ς αιστ%γνας α3 τ*&ς Κ456πας!

τὸν θμ6μ+ν* 7*σει8να μὴ *β:σαι!

τ+τ*ια στὸν %μ* σ* π*τ+ σ* ;ν θὰβ%εῖς!

<ν μ+ν= > σ+?ις@ σ* A?η5B! <ν C5ετὴ

σγDνησιςE τὸ πνεFμαG α3 τὸ σ8μαH σ*

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1,

1*

2,

2*

!,

!*

tγγDuει.

0*&ς αιστ%γνας α3 τ*&ς Κ456πας!

τὸν <γ%ι*9 7*σει8να ;ν θὰ σναντBσεις!

<ν ;ν τ*&ς *βανεῖς μ;ς στὴν ?#B1o σ*!

<ν > ?#B σ* ;ν τ*&ς στBνει Cμπ%ς σ*.

vὰ ε"#εσαι11 ν$ναι μα%&ς ' %μ*ς.

7*55ὰ τὰ α5*αι%ινὰ π%6wὰ νὰ εxναι

π*F μ; τ3 εy#α%Dστηση! μ; τ3 #α%ὰ

θὰ μπαDνεις σ; 5ιμ+νας12 π%6τ*ει6μ+ν*ςz1,

νὰ σταματBσεις σ= Cμπ*%εῖα1/ {*ινιιά!

α3 τ;ς α5;ς π%αγμάτειες1@ ν= tπ*τBσεις!

σεντ+ια α3 *%ά55ια! ε#%ιμπά%ια =

|βεν*ς!1E

α3 >*νιὰ1G

μ%6ιὰ άθε 5*γ}ς!~σ* μπ*%εῖς πιὸ <θ*να >*νιὰ μ%6ιά

σ; π5εις Α•γπτια;ς π*55;ς νὰ π:ς!

νὰ μάθεις1H α3 νὰ μάθεις tπ= τ*&ς

σπ*ασμ+ν*ς.

7άντα στὸν ν*F19 σ* ν<#εις τὴν Ἰθάη.

0ὸ θάσιμ*ν2o Cεῖ εxν= ' π%**%ισμς σ*.

€55ὰ μὴ βιάuεις21 τὸ ταεῖι ι5*.

Κα55Dτε%α #%νια π*55ὰ νὰ ια%+σειz

α3 γ+%*ς22 πιὰ ν=t%άεις στὸ νησD!π5*4σι*ς2, μ; ~σα +%ισες στὸ %μ*!

μὴ π%*σ*8ντας π5*4τη νὰ σ; -σει >

Ἰθάη.

‚ Ἰθάη σ= |6σε τ= ƒ%αῖ* ταεῖι.

„6%3ς2/ αyτὴν ;ν θ<βγαινες στὸν %μ*!

…55α ;ν |#ει νὰ σ; -σει πιά.

Κι <ν πτ6#ιὴ2@ τὴν β%εῖς! > Ἰθάη ;ν σ;

γ+5ασε.

†τσι σ*ὸς2E π*F |γινες! μ; τση πεῖ%α!

‡η θὰ τὸ ατα5άβες > Ἰθάες2G τ3

σημαDν*ν.2H

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Comments:

1;! TO MγεHςU γνώσειςI hese verses have a central position in the poem. (thaca symbolises our

personal 3ourney of life. he poet uses the 2n# person sin%ular to %ive a#vice an# make his poem #i#actic.

ine ! is #irectly linke# to the 0omeric story of the return of 4#ysseus to (thaca after the ro3an ?ar. his

return was full of ad%entures, full of knowledge. ˆJUZRPO QYO[O VSMO[ \SQY QYO KJVVJ\SMW ZR[[RWOKPJU QYO Odyssey I

lJUOP! the Odyssey 1.1;*

…ν%α μ*ι |ννεπε!1 ‰*Fσα π*54τ%*π*ν!2 Šς μά5απ*55ὰ

1.GννέπEI ZJOQSN KJPU JK Cν+π6! QJ QOVV! QJ ]O[NPSjO! QJ POVRQO.2. π=DRτρ=π=ς, >η, >=νI ULNYeQPRbOVVO]! \RM]OPSMW! QLPMSMWURMT \RT[! bOP[RQSVO! SMWOMSJL[ ( KPJU π*54ς! τ%+π6)a 3.

πDάQ=μαιI QJ \RM]OP! QJ WJ R[QPRTa π5άγ#θη S[ OZSN ZR[[SbO



π5άγ#θη!, Cπε3 0%*Dης ‹ε%ὸν πτ*5Dεθ%*ν/ |πε%σεz@

π*558ν = <νθ%-π6ν Œεν <στεαE α3 ν*ν |γν6!G

π*55ὰ = ~ γ= Cν πντH πάθεν9 <5γεα1o Šν ατὰθμν!11

t%ν4μεν*ς12 Žν τε ?#ὴν α3 νστ*ν1, ταD%6ν.1/

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Vτα6ρ=ς, ὁ (WOM. g*)I OZSN RM] JMSN KJP ‘τα%*ς! ' (‘της)! RNJUZRMSJM! NJUPR]O JP NJUZRMSJM SM RPU[.

iYO[O KSP[Q bOP[O[ JK Ithaca [QSULVRQO JLP SURWSMRQSJM RM] LPWO QYO POR]OP QJ bS[LRVS[OQYO lJUOPSN \JPV] JK QYO ZR[Q RM] JLP J\M \JPV] JK QYO KLQLPO.;* W=Xς Yαιστρ5γόναςU Z=σειF:ναI in the dyssey the aestry%onians an# the Cyclops

Polyphemus are the mythical monsters which fi%ht 4#ysseus an# his companions an# obstruct their return to

(thaca. Polyphemus is blin#e# by 4#ysseus an# asks for reven%e from his father$ Posei#on the %o# of the sea.

Posei#on employs ba# weather an# rou%h sea to #estroy 4#ysseus& hope of return. (n Ithaca the

aestry%onians$ the Cyclopes an# an%ry Posei#on lose their 0omeric meanin% an# are transforme# into

universal symbols. hey represent the obstacles that we face in our lives an# that prevent us from achievin%

our %oals. Eote that these symbols are repeate# in lines 9;1,.

1! [O εB@εσαιUὁ Fρόμ=ςI @epetition of line 2. ?ith this repetition Cavafy reverses the 0omeric

myth. (n 0omer$ 4#ysseus praye# for a fast return to (thaca whilst Cavafy&s a#vises us to pray for a lon% trip

which will offer knowle#%e an# e"perience. 6or Cavafy&s 4#ysseus it is the 3ourney that counts$ so the poet

wishes that the 3ourney is full of a#ventures. 0owever$ the 0omeric hero wishes to see even the smoke from

(thaca an# then to #ie. 4#ysseus in 0omer faces material obstacles$ Cavafy&s hero faces his own fears.

0omer$ the dyssey 1.**;*9

’4στην*ν1 “%μεν*ν2 ατε%4ει!,

α•ε3 ; μα5α*ῖσι/ α3 α‹μ5D*ισι@ 5γ*ισιθ+5γει!E ~π6ς Ἰθάης Cπι54σεταιzG αyτὰ%”σσε4ς!‹+μεν*ςH α3 απνὸν tπ*θ%σ*ντα9 ν*}σαι–ς γαDης! θαν+ειν ‹μεD%εται’1o

. FRστην=ς, >=ς >=νI \POQNYO]! LMYRZZT!LMKJPQLMRQOa 2. \FRρ=μαιI QJ jO\RSV! UJLPM KJP!

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1I Dιμένας πρEτ=ειFEμέν=5ςI the poet wants to un#erline the 3oy an# beauty of the first time we

e"perience somethin% in life.

1+ σ` Gμπ=ρεHα =ινικικάI the Phoenicians have #evelope# a maritime$ tra#in% culture that sprea#

across the Me#iterranean #urin% the perio# 1**,;!,, C. Cavafy uses them as the symbol of the sensuous

pleasures$ the pleasures of the bo#y.

18;21 καb τcς καDcςUἡF=νικO μ5ρEFικάI the poet tries to stimulate our senses with the/precious stones an# the /he#onistic perfumes that we shoul# e"perience in life7 these verses are an

invitation to us an# to himself to taste the life of senses as intensely as possible.

22;2! σc πόDεις deγ5πτιακcςU σπ=5Fασμέν=5ςI Ancient -%ypt is the symbol of knowle#%e

an# learnin%7 Cavafy&s belove# city was famous in anti5uity for its ibrary which %athere# an immense

number of books in combination to renowne# researchers$ who stu#ie#$ #iscusse# an# commente# on the

ancient authors 'like Cavafy). he repetition of the wor# F HIJKLὰ 'to learn) un#erlines the si%nificance of

knowle#%e. -%ypt symbolises the worl# of the min#.

2;2* ZάνταUπρ==ρισμός σ=5I hese verses a#vise us not to for%et our personal (thaca$ our

#estination. Many times people for%et their tar%et in life an# Cavafy a#vises us that we must always keep our

min# the reason of our trip. (t is a%ain un#erline# that it is better if the 3ourney is lon% because of the

e"perience %aine# alon% the way.

!,;!1 μf πρ=σF=κ:ντας UταgεHFιI (thaca has nothin% to offer us anymore7 the purpose of our lifeseems empty after we have achieve# it. here is certain pessimism in this messa%e which #oes not however

reach the point of surren#er. he true value of (thaca was the /won#rous voya%e. 6or 4#ysseus it is the



purpose '(thaca) that #efines the si%nificance of his bein% but for the Cavafean hero it is the 3ourney an# the

e"perience an# knowle#%e ac5uire# that make our life worth livin%.

! hFηUτb σημα6ν=5νI the implication is that (thacas are the tar%ets$ the ambitions an# the #reams we

have in life.

%uestions and Tas&s:

1. @ea# the passa%e from the dyssey 1.1;* an# compare it with the first lines of Ithaca. ?hat are the

similarities an# the #ifference of the 0omeric hero 4#ysseus with the Cavafean hero 'the rea#er)2. Compare line 1 to lines 2!;2 an# analyBe their meanin%.

!. <o you think that Cavafy&s messa%e in Ithaca is optimistic or pessimistic an# why

. ?hat is the role of knowle#%e in human life accor#in% to the poet

*. -"plain why the poet uses the article ἡ in sin%ular with the plural IHNJLἸ in the last line of the poem.

. /Cavafy a#vises the rea#er throu%h his symbols. <iscuss.

'our(es:; he e#ition use# here is C. P. Cavafy he Collecte# Poems$ 4"for# ?orl#&s Classics$ 4"for# 2,,8.; he official website of the Cavafy archive with up#ate biblio%raphies$ photos$ manuscripts$ letters$

notes$ etc. in Greek http::www.cavafy.%r an# in -n%lish http::www.cavafy.com; iblio%raphy an# <isco%raphy on Cavafy http::cavafis.compupress.%r:public.htm; (nformation about Giannis Dmara%#is& film Cavafy'199) http::www.im#b.com:title:tt,11*89:

; he Oavafis pro3ect http::www.kavafis.eu:

http://www.cavafy.gr/

http://cavafis.compupress.gr/public.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115849/

http://www.kavafis.eu/

http://cavafis.compupress.gr/public.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115849/

http://www.kavafis.eu/

http://www.cavafy.gr/

actividad escolar cavafy

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