Ithaka by Constantine P. Cavafy
"Ithaka" by Constantine P. Cavafy draws inspiration from Homer's epic, the Odyssey, particularly the journey of Odysseus as he strives to return home after the Trojan War. In Cavafy's interpretation, Ithaka symbolizes not a final destination but the significance of the journey itself, reflecting a broader commentary on human existence. The poem suggests that the essence of life lies in the experiences and lessons learned along the way, rather than in merely achieving one's goals.
The voice in the poem speaks directly to the reader, encouraging a contemplative approach to life. Readers are invited to appreciate the beauty and richness of their experiences, emphasizing the importance of living fully and morally. While Ithaka may be viewed as a modest end, it is the journey toward it that imbues life with meaning and value. Cavafy’s work serves as a reminder to embrace the process of living, savoring each moment and opportunity for growth, while keeping long-term aspirations in mind. This perspective fosters an understanding that fulfillment comes from both the journey and its destination.
Ithaka by Constantine P. Cavafy
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1911 (collected in The Complete Poems of Cavafy, 1961)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
In “Ithaka,” Cavafy makes use of the story from the Odyssey (c. 725 b.c.e.; English translation, 1614), Homer’s epic tale of Odysseus’s ten-year struggle to return home from the Trojan War. This return is a kind of scaffolding for making a value statement about human life. The island kingdom of Ithaka becomes a symbol of completion and value, and the attempt to return should be the purpose of life. Odysseus is driven by a powerful longing for his home, a longing that ends with his arrival there; but for Cavafy, Ithaka is not a place, but a process, the journey itself, and the journey is one’s life. In brief, the purpose of life cannot simply be wrapped up by its ending; it is in living that one finds value.
The voice in the poem is, perhaps, the poet’s, speaking directly to the reader, even though that “reader” could also be Odysseus. The facts of Odysseus’s journey come into the poem only as symbols of what readers can meet on their lives’ journeys. In a sense, the voice urges readers to be moral, but it is not a preaching voice.
In the second section, the voice essentially tells readers to wish for a long life, but a life which is to be enjoyed for the pleasure of being alive, in seeing that which is new and beautiful, appealing to the senses. The readers also are urged to learn, “learn” being twice repeated in the Greek for emphasis on this part of the process.
Of course, one must always have the end, Ithaka, in mind, for it is “your destiny.” One should not hurry, however, and the end is not the end. Ithaka in itself may be “poor,” but getting there is how, in living one’s life, one will give and receive richness and meaning in that life.
Bibliography
Auden, W. H. Introduction to The Complete Poems of Cavafy. Translated by Rae Dalven. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961.
Cavafy, C. P. The Canon: The Original One Hundred and Fifty-Four Poems. Translated by Stratis Haviaras, edited by Dana Bonstrom. Athens: Hermes, 2004.
Epstein, Joseph. “C. P. Cavafy, a Poet in History.” New Criterion 12, no. 5 (January, 1994): 15.
Keeley, Edmund. Cavafy’s Alexandria. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Liddell, Robert. Cavafy: A Critical Biography. London: Gerald Duckworth, 2001.