General Context - Sappho. Flashcards
When, roughly, was Sappho?
Around 600BC - 530BC (6th Century).
She was around about 100 years after Homer.
Where did Sappho live?
Lesbos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
Was Sappho married? Why might this be silly?
There are lots of false rumours about Sappho, so it’s hard to say. According to some, she was married to a man called Cercylas from Andros - literally meaning Mr Penis from Man Island.
Tell me a bit about Lesbos!
- Far from mainland Freece and Athens - different culture.
- A very beautiful green island.
What was Sappho’s family like?
She was from an aristocratic family, and describes a life of leisure and luxury.
A contemporary Lesbian poet, Alceus, also gives some indication to what life in Lesbos was like. Can you expand?
He also describes a leisurely lifestyle, with one poem featuring beauty contests.
Sappho’s Poetry:
She wrote lyric love poetry. Most of this survives only in fragments, with titles missing. Some of it has only survived through quotations by other writers.
What was her poetry’s purpose and focus?
- This is often unclear.
- She often uses female pronouns, which has lead to her being identified as a lesbian.
- But we don’t know if she is - her poems may not have been autobiographical.
- Primary purpose was to entertain - her poetry would’ve been read at symposiums, weddings and sacrifices.
- They would’ve been accompanied by music on the lyre, which Sappho herself played.
Sappho’s influence!
She was celebrated in her time and for years to come.
Plato called her “the tenth muse” - highlighting her influence.
Roman love poets, such as Catullus and Ovid, were hugely influenced by her.
Today she is seen as a lesbian and feminist icon.
Sappho herself was hevily influenced by Homer.
Sappho’s Themes:
1) Nature.
2) Sex.
3) Society.
4) Love and Desire.
5) Homeric references/mytholy.
6) Men and Women.
7) Marriage.
Literary Techniques:
1) Sappho uses ‘topoi’ (singular ‘topos’. These are recurring features in poetry, and can be very similiar to themes, or can be more like literary techniques.
For example: Nature as a metaphor for sex, invocations of the gods, shift of narrator within a poem, use of humour.
