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26
JoannaKruczkowska
frombutitmayalsoresemblethecaseofBillwhoappearsinanother
pastoralscenetowardstheendofthepoem.
AnelementoftheEliotesqueidyll,thescenefrom“TeWaste
Land”withElizabethandLeicesterinabargeontheriver(2191),
resonatesinSeferis)spoem,inthememoryofaboattripwhichMar-
garet)sguestoncewentonwithBill,herunfulfilledlove.Tisidyllis
hauntedbytwophantoms:theoneofthecolonyandempire,andthe
oneofdeath.TeformerisembodiedinthefigureofElizabethand
representedbytheukulelefromtheEnglishsong(bringingforth
thecolonialhistoryofHawaii),whilethelatterisseeninthefigure
ofBill.Tewoman)smemories,againlikeMarie)s,recallasensuous
pastlonggone,anotherunfulfilledrelationship,thekindofrelation-
shipwithwhich“TeWasteLand”abounds:here,thebeloved“was
killedinCrete”(Seferis,Collected270),thatisintheBattleofCrete
intheSecondWorldWar.Inthisreference,Seferispaystributetohis
BritishfriendsandtoBritishallieswhofoughtfortheGreeklands
inthewar.Yet,viathesamereference,hemakesclearthediference
intheirstanceinthetwostruggles:thewarandthepresentCyprus
conflict.Inthelatter,someofSeferis)sclosefriendsabandonedtheir
profoundloveforGreece;LawrenceDurrell,forinstance,accepted
apostintheBritishpropagandaunitonCyprusduringthe“Emer-
gency”
,amovewhichSeferiswouldneverforgive.Durrell)scase,just
asMargaret)sinthepoem,seekingescapefromherownself,was
exemplaryoftheBritishsplitidentity,or,toputitbluntly,British
hypocrisy(whichDurrellrealisedhimself)9.Tebackgroundfor
poemsDurrellusesbothwords“palimpsest”and“libido”(ΧOρOλOμπίδου
292-3;shealsoquotesaSeferisspecialist,GeorgeSavvidis,onthismatter)
andsuggeststhatDurrellmighthaveactuallyvisitedAudeninIschia(299;
317-footnote77).Auden)sinspirationsdrawnfromHoraceareexploredby
JohnFuller(qtd.ΧOρOλOμπίδου299;317-footnote77and79).Charalam-
bidoualsoobservesthatthetypeofwordplayrhymeasquotedabove(Ρώμη
lρώμη)wascharacteristicofCavafy(298),andasweknow,Audenacknowl-
edgedhisdebttoCavafy(seehisintroductiontoTeCompletePoemsofC.
P.Cavafy,trans.byRaeDalven,NewYork:Harcourt,1961).Icameacross
Charalambidou)sessayaferwritingmyown;forthisreasonIrefertoit
mainlyinfootnotesandbibliography.
9
CharalambidouclaimsthatBillresemblesEliot)sdeadgodtoberesur-
rected.“TroughhisdeathinCretehesymbolisesthebrotherhoodwhich
