The Collected Poems - Cavafy (Part 2)

Story Summary:

The Collected Poems is Evangelos Sachperoglou’s translation of C.P. Cavafy’s poetry; Cavafy often uses history as a context for his fictional poems, which frequently comment on overarching themes such as homosexuality, art, and beauty.

Reflections:

Cavafy’s poem “In Despair” on page 141 tells the story of two lovers’ tragic split. It is narrated in third person, with the subject(s) of the poem only named as “He.” By analyzing the diction and syntax used in the poem, the reader can conclude that the relationship in question is homosexual, and more than one man is the subject of the poem. Because the references to “he” and “him” are left ambiguous, we are uncertain which lover is being referred to at which time. In the middle stanza, there is the possibility of a role reversal between the two men and which man is speaking. The first stanza of the poem starts with man A mourning the loss of man B; the last stanza of the poem can be read as man B mourning the loss of man A, with the switch occurring in the middle stanza. Reading the poem in this way indicates that both men truly loved one another, and are unsatisfied with their decision to separate due to social and moral pressures.

The middle stanza of the poem contains the lines, “he wanted to be saved from such a stigmatized, wasteful carnal pleasure, / from such a stigmatized, carnal pleasure of shame. / There was still time—so he said— for him to save himself.” The concurrent lines about “carnal pleasures” indicate a possible switch in speaker—here, the same thought is rephrased in a very similar, but slightly different way. The similarity accounts for the men’s common experience and emotions, but the difference portrays each man’s own account of what happened. This is further supported by how the lines about “carnal pleasures” are accompanied. The first section of the stanza, reads that man B told man A, “he wanted to be saved” (from carnal pleasures). Then the switch occurs—here man A is telling man B that he could “save himself” (from carnal pleasures). “He wanted to be saved,” is a passive statement—man B believes that someone else must do the saving. However, “save himself,” is active—man A takes initiative for this saving. Because “he wanted to be saved,” and “save himself,” are incongruent, the poem indicates a possible switch in subject.

Man A starts off the poem mourning man B; he loves man B and attempts to find someone who he can love in the same way. The middle stanza starts with man B explaining to man A why he cannot be with him (social/moral pressures). Then the switch occurs—man A explains back to man B why he can’t be with him. Their reasons are the same, and we believe that although both men loved one another, they forced a reason to justify their separation. In the last stanza, man B is mourning the loss of man A and has similar thoughts—he too is searching for someone to remind him of his lover in a feeble attempt to relive their forbidden love.

Ultimately, reading the poem with the switch between male subjects indicates that both men truly loved one another in a very similar way. Their lost love is tragic for both parties, not just one of them (as could be assumed upon reading the poem without the switch).

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