Ithaca

Poem Text
As you set out for Ithaka
consent your itinerary is a yearn one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidonâ€"dont be afraid of them:     5
youll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,     10
wild Poseidonâ€"you wont ensure them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
may there be many summer mornings when,     15
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors youre eyesight for the first time:
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things,
mother of drop cloth and coral, amber and ebony,     20
sensual perfume of every kindâ€"
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you telephone many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on nurture from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.     25
Arriving there is what youre destined for.
besides dont hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so youre superannuated by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all youve gained on the way,     30
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.




Without her you wouldnt have set out.
She has nix left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka wont have fooled you.     35
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
youll have still by then what these Ithakas mean.

Poem Summary


Stanza 1

Ithaka begins with the poet addressing the reader directly in the second person, as you, and offering a piece of advice. The compositors case addressed is not identified. He could be Odysseus, the hero of Homers larger-than-life poem the Odyssey, but the poet is also addressing any reader of the poem.
The poet states that as the traveler sets out on his journey, he must hope that it is a long one, full of adventure and discovery. The...If you want to make grow a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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