2. THE MOTIVE OF PAIN
POEMS
ELEGEIA MIGUEL HERNANDEZ
I want to be, crying, the peasant that works the earth you
occupy and fertilise, companion of my soul, so soon.
My grief without instrument feeds the rains, makes horns and
organs sound, and to the dispirited poppies. I will give your
heart as food. So much pain gathers in my side, that it even
pains me to breath.
A hard slap ,a frozen blow, an invisible and murderous stroke of
the axe ,a brutal shove has brought you down. There is
nothing longer than my wound, I weep for all my
misfortunes and I feel more for your death than for my own
life.
I walk on the stubble of the dead, and with warmth from no-one
and unconsolable, I make my way from my heart to my daily
business. So soon death has risen up in flight, so soon dawn
has dawned ,so soon you are rolling on the ground.
I cannot forgive that lover, death, I cannot I forgive thoughtless
life ,I cannot forgive the earth, nor the void. In my hands I raise
a storm of strident stones, bolts of lightning and axes ,thirsting
and hungering for catastrophes.
I want to scrape at the earth with my teeth, I want to split he
earth apart bit by bit with dry, hot bites.
ΓΙΑ ΕΝΑ ΠΑΙΔΑΚΙ ΠΟΥ
ΠΕΘΑΝΕ
Κι ήταν η ζωούλα του
σαν κάτι λεπτές, ντροπαλές σταγονούλες
βροχής
Που όταν πέφτουν στον νερό δεν κάνουν καν
κύκλους
THE DEATH OF A KID-COSTAS
MONTIS
The death of a kid causes the poet’s laments
who similes his life with the rain drops. In this
way the poet wants to show that life is valuable
and can be easily lost.
3. I want to mine into the earth until I find you
and kiss your noble skull and take your
shroud from you and bring you back.
You will come back to my garden and my fig tree:
among the high flowery trellises your soul
will flit like a bee in its hive. Sewn with the
wax of angels. You will come back to the
murmuring of farm-workers at their
beloveds’ windows.
You will cheer up the shadow over my eyebrows,
and from either side your beloved and the
bees will argue over your blood.
Your heart, now wrinkled velvet, calls my greedy
lovers’ voice to a field of foaming almonds .I
want to be with you under the winged souls
of the roses of the cream-coloured almond
tree, for we have many things to talk of
companion of my soul, my companion.
ELEGEIA MIGUEL HERNANDEZ
4. Lyrics :
A. Elegeia MIGUEL HERNANDES
11-12:
So much pain gathers in my side that it even pains me to breathe.
18-20:
There is nothing longer than my wound, I weep for all my
misfortunes
49-53:
I want to mine into the earth until I find you and kiss your noble
skull and take your shroud from you and bring you back
B. For the death of a child COSTAS MONTIS
The Cypriot poet wails for the death of a kid and expresses his
sorrow by comparing his life with the drops of the rain.
5. Elegeia (Miguel Hernandez)-
The death of kid (Costas Montis p.150)
Subject: Death
In his poem Miguel Hernandez wants to express his feelings
about the death of his best friend. In addition, he wants to
express his desire to be with his friend by caring and protecting
the tomb of his friend and showing how important his friend was
for him. Moreover, in the lines 11-12 and 18-20 he complains
about his luck which deprived him of his friend. Furthermore,
lines 49-53 express the sorrow of the poet which increases. At
the same time Costas Montis refers to the death of a kid and
makes a simile of life with the drops of the rain. He also wants
to show that life is valuable. To conclude the Cypriot poet
wails for the death of a kid whereas Miguel Hernandes
mournes for the death of his friend.
6. THE SUBJECT OF FREEDOM
POEMS
THE WOUNDED MAN MIGUEL HERNANDEZ
For freedom I bleed, I fight, I keep on
living.
For freedom, my eyes and my hand, like
a tree made flesh, generous and captive,
I give to the surgeons.
For freedom I feel more heart than sand
in my breast:my veins give foam and I go
into the hospitals, and I go into the cotton
sheets as into lilies.
For freedom I tear myself away, with
bullets, from those who have toppled
its statue into the mud. And I tear
myself away, with blows, from my feet,
from my hands, from my home , from
everything.
1955-59 COSTAS MONTIS
The power of freedom was the mainly
reason which brings closer all
Cypriots. I addition at the liberation
struggle of 1955-59 Cypriot fought Turks
to achieve their freedom.
7. For where empty eye-sockets dawn,
freedom will place two stones looking
towards the future, and will make new
arms and new legs grow in the felled
flesh.
Relics of the body I lose with each wound
will sprout again with wings of sap that has
no autumn. For I am like the felled tree, I
sprout again: for I still have life
THE WOUNDED MAN MIGUEL HERNANDEZ
8. Lyrics :
Freedom
A. MIGUEL HERNANDES
1-2:
For the freedom I bleed ,I fight, I keep on living.
14-17:
For freedom I tear myself away, with bullets from those who
have toppled its statue into the mud.
22-28 :
For where empty eye-sockets dawn freedom will place two
stones looking towards the future and will make new arms
and new leg grow in the felled flesh.
B. COSTAS MONTIS
Costas Montis underlines that freedom was the target of the
Cypriots who fight with any way to achieve it, because the
dream of all Cypriots was the freedom of Cyprus.
9. The wounded man (Miguel Hernandez)-
1955-1959(Costas Montis p.90)
Subject: Freedom
In his poem Miguel Hernandez expresses his desire for
freedom in various ways. First of all, lyrics 1-2 show the poet’s
determination to fight, bleed and keep on living for freedom.
Moreover, lyrics 14-17 refer to the poet’s decision to fight
against the people who do not mind about freedom and cause
fatal wars. He wants to show that freedom is everything.
Moreover, lyrics 22-28 underline that freedom is vital for life and
show that the poet was a patriot and a soldier of freedom. At
the same time Costas Mondis refers to the liberation war of
1955-59 and his dream to see Cyprus freed .To sum up
Costas Montis underlines that freedom was the target of
the Cypriots who fight with any way to achieve it. The
same target comes up in the poem of Miguel Hernandez.
10. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE
WAR
Enlightened I proceed in the
darkness Miguel Hernandez
Miguel Hernandez in his poem
expresses his misery about the war.
In addition he parallels the life in the
war with darkness, because it is too
bad .In this way, the poet wants to show
his pain which causes the Spanish war
to him.
Turkish invasion- Costas
Montis
The Cypriot poet refers to the
Turkish invasion which deprives
many Cypriots from of their
properties. In addition he mentions
now many of the Cypriots’ properties
belongs illegally to the Turks. Moreover,
Costas Montis through the conversation
of a child with his mother wants to
underline that a lot of people lost their
lives in the war and now a big part of
Cyprus belongs to Turks.
11. LYRICS:
Enlightened I proceed in the darkness
Miguel Hernandez
The poet expresses his sorrow about the Spanish war and the
bad consequences of the war. In addition, he underlines the
bad life in the war which makes him think that death is
preferable.
Turkish invasion - Costas Montis
The Cypriot poet refers to the consequences of the Turkish
invasion which deprives the Cypriots of their properties.
12. Enlightened I proceed in the darkness ( Miguel Hernandez)-
Turkish invasion (Costas Montis p.54)
Miguel Hernandez underlines the consequences of the war
and the misery that the war causes. Also, lyrics 5-14 make a
simile of the war as darkness because life in the war is too bad
and force people to prefer death to life. In addition, mourning
dominates and many people die. At the same time, Costas
Montis refers to the occupied Cyprus places by the Turks and
lyrics12-21 wail about the death of many Cypriots and the loss
of their properties which now belong to the Turks.
Consequently, both poets are inspired by the same
incentives and write poetry which expresses their
response to similar circumstances.
