Sappho Essays

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

Thesis: If Anaktoria would have stayed with Sappho, would she have written poetry like this? Desire The ancient poet Sappho expresses her feelings in her work. Her beautiful and heartbroken words send out the feeling of longing and desire she feels for Anaktoria, a woman who left her to find a husband. Sappho voices this feeling multiple times in her poetry. She says: ]of desire ] ]for when I look at you […] ]from every care ]you could release me (Sappho “Fragment 23” p.43) This shows us the desire

consider that during Sappho’s era, women weren’t allowed to be writers… and yet Plato still deemed Sappho the “10th muse”. Sappho’s writing is also the first time, in occidental culture, that we get to know about emotions felt by a woman – and in this case, for another woman. Sappho’s use of the ode structure, coupled with certain details, diction and auditory choices demonstrate reason this poem and Sappho herself have become revered classics admired for centuries is that both the content and the medium

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” written by John Steinbeck, the flowers are symbolizing more than the eye may catch. The author displays how important these chrysanthemums are to Elisa Allen, but there is a deeper meaning to the flowers than just the love she has for them. The chrysanthemums represented more than just a passion and more than just her strength, but also her dignity. When they were thrown out on the side of the road, they symbolized her dignity which was now gone since the man

Sappho, the ancient Greek poet, was known for her unique style of lyric poetry, which often explored themes of love, desire, and the human experience. Her love poetry that has captured the hearts of readers for centuries. Her poems are characterized by their intensity, emotional depth, and personal expression of desire and longing. Sappho’s poetry has an overarching theme of love and the many different ways that love manifests itself in the human experience. Often times, her poetry is lyric in style

Aristophanes and Sappho share parallels when speaking about the importance of erotic love. They both describe love as powerful, and speak about the influence it has on our happiness. Furthermore, Aristophanes and Sappho highlight how natural love is and that it should be sought after because of the happiness associated with being in a relationship. One could argue that Aristophanes and Sappho’s shared similar ideologies when it comes to sexuality. Sappho promotes homosexuality through her love of

consulting the mind. Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s fragments in, If Not Winter, creates experiences in which, eros produces a gap between the subject and the desired object. With the use of vivid imagery and overt symbolism within fragment 105A, Sappho allows her readers to experience the uncontrollable forces of desire and attraction which govern a person who is in love; even if such feelings are irrational. This ultimately creates a tangible distance between the subject and the object she desires

Both poems have their similarities and differences; both speaking of romance and love. Sappho states how death separates a person from their loved ones which states how Sappho's poems seem to be more about love while Catullus' poems are very descriptive and seems to have include lust rather than love. Sappho uses more emotion and subtlety in her work, while Catullus' work is more physical and raw. Both poets express their emotions and their individuality through their writing style. From what I gathered

The language in Plato’s symposium and the expression of Sappho’s poetry are similar in that they both deal with homoerotic love. Sappho, the only ancient Greek female author whose work survived, talks from the female point of observation, where as Plato’s work concentrates on the idea of love among males. In spite of the fact that both of their points of view are comparative in courses, for example, their thoughts of physical fascination and want, Plato’s work creates a better understanding of the

but that is why we live on. To get closer to that line for our future sons and daughters so the struggle is less. Sappho was close to knowing this if she didn’t already know it. Sappho was a poet during the 640-610 B.C.(¨Sappho.¨) Her life and how she chose to live it was not only ahead of her time, forbidden, and pure genius; it was essential for her to stay true to herself. Sappho perfectly and accurately conveys Greece, through her beloved poetry, her undetermined yet passionate love, and her

like love, passion or even desire. There are couple of similarities between Sappho’s fragments and The Song of Songs yet there are also couple of disparities. Both expresses either love or desire towards someone. Although in Fragments 130 and 31, Sappho doesn’t directly tell the person who she’s admiring but instead keeps her feelings to herself. Meanwhile the Shulamite and her lover are both aware of each other feelings. The Song of Songs is described as a poem that expresses the sexual awaken or

Reading the Poems of Sappho translated by Julia Dubnoff is a powerful and emotional experience. Sappho's poetry is known for its intense emotionality, and Dubnoff's translation brings that emotion to life in a way that is both accessible and relatable to a modern audience. One of the most striking things about Sappho's poetry is the way she uses imagery and metaphor to express her feelings and emotions. From the lush and detailed descriptions of nature, to the clever and evocative comparisons she

strong leaders of the past like Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, Joan of Arc, and Sappho had to fight for their positions as leaders in society so they could inspire future women. For Queen Hatshepsut fighting for a leadership position meant reversing what Egyptians believed women could do politically and religiously. While for Joan of Arc it was disproving derogatory opinions on how much power women could hold over a military. Sappho was such a great poet that her work spread around the Mediterranean, but

expressed in Sappho’s writing was her sexuality. Disregarding the fact that she was married to a man for a brief period of time, Sappho found a great interest in women (Poetry Foundation). As an illustration, the poem “In My Eyes He Matches the Gods” is enthusiastic towards Sappho’s sexuality. This poem is about a women Sappho sees sitting across the room and with a man. Sappho is envious of said man and states it does not matter who the man is with this women, any guy would be like the gods getting to

aesthetic and sensual language. "He Is More Than a Hero," an ancient Greek poem by Sappho, praises a warrior's bravery and valor Sappho, a distinguished poet of ancient Greece, is remembered for the elegance, beauty, and emotional depth of her work. She has received extensive attention and admiration from scholars

In Daniel Mendelsohn’s article “Girl, Interrupted: Who was Sappho?” he discusses what is known about poet Sappho, and also what is debated about her history. One of her poems he includes in his analysis is the newly constructed fragment 58, now known as the “Old Age Poem.” In the poem, Sappho seems to upsettingly discuss the idea and natural occurrence of growing old. As for my interpretation of the poem, perhaps Sappho is reflecting values of a time period in which youth and beauty were significant

Gwen Harwood to a large extend, takes marginalised groups such as women, and privileges their experiences by giving them a voice through poetry. Both ‘Suburban Sonnet’ and ‘Burning Sappho’ express the frustrations of women who feel tapped by motherhood and the expectation that they will conform to domestic roles. Harwood comments on the inability of women to pursue personal happiness as she shows that motherhood can be both rewarding and all consuming. Meaning is therefore drawn from each poem through

Arvinth Sethuraman HSS-1-C Prof. Stieber Sappho's Love Sappho, one of the only female poets of ancient Greece able to parallel the fame of the males of her time, writes “fr. 16” as an essential anachronism, detailing the importance of affection within society. Throughout her work, Sappho also raises questions about love. Who can be loved? How powerful is love? Sappho generates a transcendental definition of love through her use of allusions as seen in the translations of her work by both Fowler

lesbian romance and queer characters. The first lesbian themes in literature date back to as early as 600 BC the most famous Greek lyric poets, Sappho of Lesbos. Sappho’s interest in other women can be found in her poetry, but there is too little evidence to actually label her a lesbian. In “Lesbian Sappho and Sappho of Lesbos” from the book From Sappho to De Sade: Moments in the History of Sexuality (2014), scholar André Lardinois explains that not much of Sappho’s work has survived overtime, leaving

Greece could involve the performance of a song. It was not an unusual practice to perform a song while or after inscribing a curse-tablet or to perform or to compose (or even to write down) a curse in verses, thus a literary curse. If we suppose that Sappho borrowed some elements of other literate curses or of the language of magic and curse-tablets, then the similarities between her compositions and curses (literary or not) should exist at the level of content and form. Nevertheless, there also must