sappho context/background Flashcards
sapphos life, style of writing + background
What were Sappho’s dates?
Uncertain 620BC - 570 BCE
Why is Sappho significant?
One of the few Ancient female poets + gives female perspective on love in ancient world
What does Sappho mention in her poetry?
Mentions her mother, brothers + daughters - no ref to a husband
What did Plato refer to Sappho as?
10th muse
How much did Sappho write?
Around 9 books in 6th century
Only around 600 fragments survive
Why might’ve Sappho’s poetry been lost?
Written on papyrus which would rot, be used to wrap mummies, written over or lost in another way
Where was Sappho’s poetry also recorded?
In library of Alexandria, which burnt down
Where was Sappho born?
Lesbos
How does Sappho write about Lesbos?
Variety of flowers + plants can flourish there
What does Sappho say in poem 2?
Calls to Aphrodite + tempts her with the promise of Lesbos’ natural beauty
What quote(s) describe Lesbos in poem 2?
“Apple trees”
“Cold water sings”
“Shadows of roses”
“Breezes blow gently”
Where were Sappho’s family exiled to? When?
Sicily in early 6th cent BC
After government in Lesbos changed
What did the government change mean? Where is this shown in Sappho’s poetry?
Lack of luxury
Poem 98, Sappho regrets not being able to provide a fancy headband for her daughter
What sort of poetry did Sappho write?
Love
Hymns to gods
Songs for weddings
What shows freedom for women in Lesbos?
There were female symposia
What did Sappho also do?
Also provided musical accompaniment to poetry on a lyre
What is Sappho credited for the creation of? What does this show?
Plectrum
Shows the must’ve had a unique playing style
What does Sappho show in poem 118?
Her + her lyre look to each other for inso
Her playing gives the lyre a voice which she’ll use for poetry
What can we never be certain about?
We can never presume that Sappho’s poems were autobiographical even if she uses ‘I’
What was a thiasos?
Religious group of girls that would perform rituals
What was lyric poetry?
Poetry w love as the central theme, performed w a lyre
Where does Sappho show fashion + wealth?
Poem 57 - “what farm girl” “ragged dress”
Poet is shocked that her lover prefers a farm girl
What does poem 39 show?
“Embroidered sandals”
Images of expensive, beautiful accessories
What does poem 98a show?
Sappho talks about the changing fashions since her mothers generation
Suggests a society moved by status
What is the 1 completed surviving poem we have from Sappho?
Hymn to Aphrodite
What’s a topos?
A reoccurring feature in literature
What are topoi in Sappho’s poetry?
(Pain of) love, passion, rejection
Nature,
Invocations of gods + personal relationships w gods,
Sappho’s role as a teacher
Marriage
Homeric influence
Death
What literary tech does Sappho do in poem 1?
Topos
Focus shift
Nouns
Homeric influence
Epithets
What’s a priamel? Which poem shows this?
Listed alternatives that encase the true subject which is revealed later in the poem
Poem 16 - we think its about war, but its about Anactoria
Where do we see the topoi of flowers + nature?
Poem 96 “flowery fields” “beautiful dew”
Where do we see topoi of Homeric?
Poem 16 - Sappho implies Helen chose to leave Menelaus + compares this to Anactoria choosing to leave Sappho
Where do we see topoi of gods?
Poem 1 - Aphrodite directly speaks to Sappho + reassures her
