Gwen Johnson
English I
Ithaca
By: Constantine Cavafy
Allusion is a reference to a historical or literary person, place or even with which the reader is assumed to be familiar. In the poem, "Ithaca", the author refers to Lestrygonians, Cyclopes, and the Poseidon. Lestrygonians are cannibals who destroy all of Odysseus' ships except his own and kill the crews. A Cyclops is a ficticious creature with one eye. A Poseidon is a fierce monster.
"Ithaca"
By: Constantine Cavafy
When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
Then pray that the road is long, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.
The manuscript of the poem "Keriá", Constantine P...
manuscript for his poem "That's The Man" (Outos Ek...
Cropped from :Image:Cavafy1900.jpgThen pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.
Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has...