Two Sided Victorian Sappho: The Poet and The Hypersexualized Sappho became the muse for writers interested in homoerotic literature, because she was known as the mother of eroticism or that’s what many thought she was. After reading Swinburne’s dramatic monologue “Anacotria” and Michael Field’s lyric poem “Sing to Us, Sappho!” it was clear to be that there were two sides to this the Sapphic story. These two works were written in the eighteenth century several years apart, but both introduce two completely different sides to Sappho. I will touch base on the history of homosexuality (lesbian sexuality) during the early eighteenth century, and how aware of it others were. Next, I’ll analyze the different voice each writer creates for their version …show more content…
Unlike the word choice in “Anactoria” Field in his lyric poem treats it much like music and uses words that appeal to the sense hear, scent, feel and sound. Sappho calls to Apollo for help on what exactly to sing to the people that call out for her. Once she sings to them, Sappho awaits a sigh of approval from the crowd and doesn’t hear another back. She is given a stare of disapproval and dissatisfaction, this is unusual to Sappho. As oppose to the revenge that Swinburne’s Sappho seeks on her ex-lover, to be forgotten forever, while Sappho lives on in literature. Field’s Sappho wishes revenge on those who disapproved by reminding them that she will be buried with the Gods, unlike them. In this poem, we don’t see a lesbian Sappho, Field doesn’t label her sexuality, more so creates that ambiguity. “I knew not there were men who jeer” (line 5) allows you to be creative with who her audience is and isn’t. Could be for women or could be for men, men can be generalized and it’s never quite clear who she’s referencing to. Again, Field does a great job of creating a Sappho of exploration and questioning, not one who is labeled by her sexuality, it’s not the Sappho we’re used to seeing in