What Is The Purpose Of Sappho's Poetry?

Throughout the fragmented poem, Sappho expresses how someone else’s degrading words affect her and how she handles that pain. She is quick to judge and takes action after being put down. With the descriptions of her pain in movements, she tells a story of what caused her pain.

Aphrodite represents erotic love as a fascinating form of divine influence. The nude Aphrodite has powerful meaning and

I personally love this poem for the idea of love and beauty that is in the eyes of the beholder. The fact that Sappho ties the culture and their stories of history along with her idea of beauty into one piece allows me to also think about what I might consider beautiful. And that beauty isn’t just beauty but it is love and respect. While I would never find beauty in anything war related I’m sure I’d have a different view if I lived during that time period but I can actually find a relation in myself to the people of Sappho’s time because of her work. I can imagine standing in awe of the army marching away to war as well as being in awe of a beautiful queen. While I find beauty in the ocean I’m sure I’d find beauty in the Greek

To start off, Sappho’s poems are often focused around romance through her word choice and tone. Some examples include, “All that my heart longs for, fulfill. And be yourself my ally in love’s battle.” and “he man who, facing you, is seated and, up close, that sweet voice of yours he listens to and how you laugh a laugh that brings desire. Why, it just makes my heart flutter within my breast, You see, the moment I look at you, right then, for me to make any sound at all won't work any more.”

A poem is a piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical, usually metaphorical, and that often exhibits such formal elements as meter, rhyme, and stanza structure. In her poem, “Variations of the Word ‘“love”’,” Margaret Atwood introduces to her audience the word “love” from many different perspectives. Google defines “love” as “an intense feeling of deep affection”, or “having a deep feeling or sexual attachment to (someone).” But “love” is not something that can easily be described. Atwood goes on to present and portray the word through different illustrations, beginning with cliché examples and ending with her own personal scenarios. The author’s tone and metaphorical language effectively conveys her perspective of “love”.

There are different forms of love, ranging from the lust of one another to a familial fondness. Two poets, Sappho and Catullus, each represent a different type of love in their respective poems. Sappho, a female poet born in the early sixth century B.C. on the Greek island of Lesbos, was said to be the tenth Muse and a supreme lyric poet of her time. Her life remains mostly a mystery, but through her poems it has been found out that she had a husband, and a daughter named Cleis. Catullus, a Roman poet that lived from roughly 84 to 54 B.C., found inspiration in and was influenced by Sappho, opting to write about love rather than politics like the rest of the poets of his time. He also popularized the style of “love elegy” in poems. Sappho and Catullus, as seen in “Sleep, Darling” and “If Ever Anyone Anywhere” respectively, use diction, the speaker, figurative language, and imagery in similar and different ways to express varying versions of love.

In Sappho’s poems, she talks about sexuality and gender and relates it to the idea that an individual should be themselves and embrace their differentialities from others. In poem 2: We Shall Enjoy It, brings up the idea of being oneself when explains the following about silliness: As for him who finds Fault, may silliness And sorrow take him!

It is important that during the entire poem Sappho does not care if the women she lust after feels that same away back. She is does not even consider the possibility of the women reciprocating those feels because is focused on her personal needs. Desire gives her the ability to be one completely one sided and selfish. This concept is also demonstrated in fragment 36 where Sappho says “ I long and seek after”. The word “I” is singular and egotistical it shows that Sappho’s desires is based purely on her individual needs.

By not having neither too much nor too little. The right amount will vary with the individual the golden mean is achieved when one attains a certain balance.

From Sappho’s beliefs on heterosexual relations, I would have to disagree. I am dis agreeing because first not each man is the same, what I mean by that is, not every man thinks the same. For example, some men abuse their wives and think it’s perfectly or even they think its fine to verbally abuse their partner. However, you also have the type of male who believes all females are precious creatures who walk this earth and deserve to be treated as equal. In addition, I would like to say I do understand Sappho’s perspective. The men that are corrupt are irrational beings that like to dictate and throw their weight around because they believe physically or verbally no one can match them. However, the reason why I disagree with this perspective

Sappho tells her to, “Rejoice, go and remember me. For you know how we cherished you. But if not, I want to remind you] and beautiful times we had” (Sappho lines 7-11). Sappho wants her to girlfriend to remember her and not to forget the love that they shared together. She wants her to be free, but to also keep her in mind. Sappho believes that if her girlfriend remembers her, then that is something to always look back on and be happy about. She also wants her to remember her for hope that maybe one day they can recapture the love and be together again. If she forgets about Sappho, then the hope of being together in the future is lost. “For you know we cherished you” (Sappho line 8) refers to how much the relationship means to Sappho. The relationship and her girlfriend mean the world to Sappho. She sees her and the relationship as worthwhile because of the love between them. Sappho wants to be remembered for the love that they have and not become a faded memory. This shows that the love connection between the couple is very strong because of valuable Sappho sees the relationship and how even though things did not work out, she wants to be remembered for their love. This relates to Walter Penrose’s view of Sappho’s relationships in “Sappho's Shifting Fortunes from Antiquity to the Early Renaissance.” He writes, "But the few fragments that remain of her poetry do suggest that Sappho felt strong emotional, even erotic bonds with other women, that other women also experienced such relationships, and that it was acceptable to sing about emotional and even physical attractions towards other women in ancient Lesbos" (Penrose). Penrose talks about how Sappho feels emotionally about other women. Sappho is open to express herself and her views on lesbianism, which led people to become more accepting of lesbian relationships. I

Aristotle states, "... the poet's function is not to report things that have happened, but rather to tell of such things as might happen, things that are possibilities by virtue of being in themselves inevitable or probable." (Aristotle 1150). In Aristotle's thinking poetry is higher more complex, and philosophical than history is (Aristotle 1151). Thus it is not only the form and structure different, the content is different as well, in essence each one expresses something different; history a fact and poetry the universal (Aristotle 1151).

Sound is one of the most intriguing elements of language. It is fundamental to all spoken languages yet does not explicitly lend itself to its written counterparts. For many of us we hear the sounds in our heads whilst reading. Nevertheless it could certainly be argued that the mere letters on the page themselves contain the entirety of the meaning; the sounds associated with them being of secondary importance. This argument holds some element of truth as it is entirely possible to learn a language only in the written context and have no capacity to speak it or understand others who do so. Perhaps there is no real deeper meaning that would even be lost in dealing with prose in this manner. Poetry, however, is a

During this passage, the speaker of the poem encourages others to act in a libertine manner through his combatted word choice, detailed imagery, and heroic stanza pattern. Using a heroic stanza throughout the poem humors the speaker, a retired “brave admiral,” who is comparing sexual acts to warfare. After sharing examples of sexual acts experienced, he proclaims “with tales like these I will such heat inspire,” (41) emboldening others to act with the same “heat.” The speaker suggests that he will make the libertine prospects “long some ancient church to fire” (43), meaning the ancient morals of sexual acts. By setting fire to the old church thought, the libertines have a chance to perform sensual acts without the judgement of the religious. The able will then not fear “lewdness,” lustful acts, that are influenced by being drunk. (44) He is in turn acting as an advocate, “statesman-like” (45), by voicing his opinions and personal experiences for others to act in ways that he used to and no longer can. The speaker is a libertine who explains what he will do when he is no longer able to perform sexually, when he is “safe from danger valiantly advise,” (46). He is safe from the risks of the excessive amount sensual pleasures, including alcoholism and sexually transmitted diseases. Once he is retired from the sexually active lifestyle, he will watch others perform their sexual battles from afar, receiving pleasure by living through others.

Sappho was known for her poetry rejoicing same-sex desire, giving rise to the modern term “lesbian”. Greeks valued Sappho’s aristocratic poetry by identifying her as the tenth muse. Although her poetry is fragmented it is the most substantial body of work by a woman that remains from classical antiquity. Her poetry includes themes of sexual pursuit, remembrances of beloved women, pothos, and some hymns to the goddess of eros, Aphrodite. She was an individual whose observations were true to the complexity