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Sappho of Lesbos. 游力澔 69512111 Jackman You. Sappho. Sappho was an Ancient Greek lyric poet , born on the island of Lesbos. Life.
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Sappho of Lesbos 游力澔 69512111 Jackman You
Sappho • Sappho was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, born on the island of Lesbos.
Life No contemporary historical sources exist for Sappho's life—only her poetry. While it is natural to suppose some commonality of experience between Sappho's poetic persona and the historical Sappho, scholars have rejected a biographical reading of the poetry and have cast grave doubts on the reliability of the later biographical traditions from which all more detailed accounts derive.
Her inclination of Women • 1. some of her love poems were addressed to women, she has long been considered to have had homosexual inclinations. • 2. The narrators of many of her poems do in fact speak of desireand love (sometimes requited, sometimes not) for various women, but descriptions of physical acts between women are few and subject to debate.
Another Description of Her Inclination • Sappho killed herself by jumping off the Leucadian cliffs for love of Phaon, a ferryman. Some scholars have suggested that this legend of Sappho's leap from the cliff over the love for a man may have resulted in part from a desire to discount her homosexuality.
Sexual Concept in the Ancient times • 1. The concept of sexual orientation has been understood only for the past one hundred years; it was unknown in the ancient world. • 2. In the ancient world, only sexual practice was considered. Sexual activity with partners of both genders was not considered immoral or unusual in ancient Greece (or Rome).
3. In ancient literature, however, sexual relations between women are much less frequently mentioned than those between men.
The Derivation of “Lesbian” The word lesbian itself is derived from the name of the island of Lesbos from which she came.
Reputation • Sappho’s poetry had a very high reputation in the ancient world. She was the only woman in ancient Greece whose writing achieved this status. Plato, centuries after her death, called her “the tenth Muse” because she was such an inspiration to other poets.
Extent • A large body of Sappho’s poetry existed in the ancient world. Her poems filled nine books totaling thousands of lines.
Loss • Only one complete poem (the first one in your textbook) and parts of 700 lines are extant (still in existence) today. All the rest of her poetry has been lost. Reasons for the loss of her poetry include
1. the usual decay and lack of effective preservation of ancient manuscripts • 2. periodic attempts by the Church to destroy her poetry because of its apparent lesbianism
Survival • What we still have of Sappho’s poetry survives only because • she was so frequently quoted by other poets. • her poetry was so common that scraps of it have been found even in excavations of an ancient Egyptian garbage dump.
Traits of Sappho’s poetic style • Simple, direct language: Sappho’s poems use simple, everyday language. They express emotion in an immediate, natural, unadorned way, largely free of ornamentation and metaphor. • Passionate intensity: Sappho’s poems express longing that is passionate, intense, even erotic.
Mary Barnard • Mary Barnard reintroduced Sappho to the reading public with a new approach to translation that escapes the complicated use of rhyming stanzas or forms of poetry, such as the sonnet, which were grossly unsuited to Sappho's style. Barnard's translations featured spare, fresh language that better reflected the clarity of Sappho's lines. Her work signalled a new appreciation and hunger for Sappho's poetry. Subsequent translators have tended to work in a similar manner, seeking to allow the essence of Sappho's spirit to be visible through the translated verses.
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~mercer/3413/3413StudyGuideSapphoCatullus.htmhttp://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~mercer/3413/3413StudyGuideSapphoCatullus.htm
Some There Are Who Say That The Fairest Thing • Some there are who say that the fairest thing seenon the black earth is an array of horsemen;some, men marching; some would say ships; but I sayshe whom one loves bestis the loveliest. Light were the work to make thisplain to all, since she, who surpassed in beautyall mortality, Helen, once forsakingher lordly husband, fled away to Troy-land across the water.Not the thought of child nor beloved parentswas remembered, after the Queen of Cypruswon her at first sight.
Since young brides have hearts that can be persuadedeasily, light things, palpitant to passionas am I, remembering Anaktoriawho has gone from meand whose lovely walk And the shining pallorof her face I would rather see before myeyes than Lydia's chariots in all their gloryarmored for battle.
