Constantinos Kavafis was a well-known Greek poet who earned a significant place among the most important figures in Greek poetry by using his unique style of writing. Kavafis wrote one hundred and fifty-four poems which are extremely famous all around the world.
Kavafis was born in 1863 in Alexandria, in Egypt, and he was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church. His father’s name was PetrouIoannis and his mother’s name was Charikleia. His father had lived in England in earlier years and had acquired British citizenship. After his father died in 1870, Kavafis and his family went to Liverpool for a while, until 1876. There, they faced some financial problems so they went back to Alexandria. Some years afterwards, in 1882, his family moved again, to Constantinople. Finally, Kavafis returned to Alexandria in 1885, where he lived for the rest of his life. As for his job, at first he worked as a journalist. He published his poetry from 1891 to 1904 and only for his close friends. When he started to publish his poetry for everyone he received little recognition as his style was different from the mainstream Greek poetry of his day.
ConstantinosKavafis wrote many poems that have touched many people, but my favourite one is the “Oso Boris” which means “As Much As You Can”. In this poem, Kavafis expresses his thoughts about how people should take charge of their life in order to protect their self-respect and dignity. In this poem, Kavafis believes that constant communication with many and different people who do not have the right personality and morals reflectson us negatively. The title, which is “As Much As You Can”, shows that the poet can understand that people cannot always choose those who only affect them positively. Kavafis advises the readers to avoid pointless and unnecessary interactions.
Based on all the above, ConstantinosKavafis was a significant poet. One can only benefit from reading his poems. Kavafis offered special lessons to his readers and he expressed his thoughts and feelings in an original style.
Elena D
Advanced Class
Dilou School
