sapphos poetry quotes + analysis Flashcards
What are the quotes from poem 16?
“Helen abandoned her husband, the most excellent of all men”
“Now I am thinking of Anactoria”
What does poem 31 start with?
Makarios (poem starting w ‘blessed’) - used in the Odyssey so shows Homeric influence
What are the quotes from poem 31?
“He seems to be equal to a God”
“A tremor seizes me all over”
“I think that I am on the point of death”
What does poem 34 (around the beautiful moon) show?
Beauty of nature
The moon is her beloved + other women are stars - still celebratory of women
What are the quotes from poem 48?
“You came, just what I was looking for, you soothed my soul which was burning with desire”
What are the quotes from poem 55?
“No one will remember you”
“Bc you have no share of the Pierian muses”
“You will fade into the house of Hades”
What does poem 48 show?
Relief, physical symptoms of desire
Who is mentioned in poem 95?
Gongyla
What does Sappho wish for in poem 95?
Wishes for death “I take no pleasure from living”
What does Sappho say she longs to see in poem 95? What does this show?
“Banks of Acheron”
Underworld river - filled w lotuses which symbolise forgetfulness - she may want to forget her past love
Who is the Lord Sappho refers to in poem 95?
Psychopompus - guide of souls - ref to the underworld
Who is referenced in poem 104?
Hesperus, male personification of planet Venus AKA the evening star
What does poem 104 say?
Calls to Hesperus to bring back night time which is scattered by the dawn
What’s an epithalamia?
Poem celebrating marriage
What is poem 111 - raise the roof?
An epithamlamai
What is the last line of poem 111? What literary effect is this?
“Bigger by far than the biggest man” - paradox + humour
What does Greek writing refer to Eros as?
Limb loosening
What does Sappho say love does in poem 130?
“Love loosens the limbs”
What imagery is shown in poem 132?
“I have a beautiful daughter”
“Resembles the sight of golden flowers” - femininity, loving, maternal
What do some scholars suggest the missing word after “more even than” is in poem 132?
Lesbos
(More even than Lesbos)
What does Sappho believe in poem 148 (Wealth without virtue)?
Wealth + virtue together are good; wealth can bring happiness
Opposite of Seneca’s beliefs
What does Sappho talk about in poem 15 (Cypris)?
Mocks her brother for falling in love w Doricha (Egyptian sex worker) + calls Aphrodite to punish her
Who does Sappho invoke in poem 17?
Queen Hera
What does Sappho pray for in poem 17?
Someone’s safety at sea
What is poem 30?
An epithamlamai
What does Sappho say in poem 30?
“May the maidens sing of your delights” - desire is portrayed in a celebratory manner
What does DeJean call Sappho?
“Sappho is truly a legendary figure”
What does Sappho talk about in poem 39?
“Embroidered sandals” - Lesbos was between Greece + Lydia - rich trading route
Sappho was from a wealthy family
What is the quote from poem 47?
“Love shook my soul like a wind buffeting oak trees”
What is the effect of poem 47?
Homeric similie
Love is like a force of nature - strong
What does Loeb 50 (a handsome man is only good to look at) tell us?
Sappho appreciated inner beauty - similar to Plato + Seneca
Lover rather than desire
What were Pierian muses mentioned in poem 55?
Pierian spring was metaphorical source of knowledge of art + science
What does poem 55 tell us?
Poetry secures everlasting fame
Possibly about someone she disliked
What does Hollis say?
“Love appears as an overwhelming force”
What is poem 81 (oh Dika) about?
Preparing for a ritual
Floral imagery - female beauty
Graces - 3 daughters of Zeus who rep. beauty
What are the quotes from poem 94 (Honestly I want to die)?
“She was leaving me”
“We had good times”
“Intricate garlands”
“Violets, roses”
What is poem 94 about?
Sappho is being left by a lover who doesn’t want to leave but Sappho encourages her to
Reminiscence of past times
Who says Sappho communicates female anxiety towards marriage?
Karinika
What are the quotes of poem 96 (Often she turned her thoughts here)?
“She honoured you as if you were a goddess”
“Among all stars”
“She remembers gentle Atthis)
What are the quotes from poem 105?
“Sweet apple at the highest hight”
“Missed by apple pickers”
“They couldn’t reach”
What is the idea of poem 105?
Men can’t reach female sexuality
What does Sappho suggest in poem 110 (the doorkeeper)?
Crude implication of the man
Epithalamia
Intimidation for bride
What are the quotes from poem 112?
“Lucky bridegroom”
“You have the girl of your dreams”
“Lover is poured over your face”
“Aphrodite honoured you”
What does it seem like poem 112 is?
Depicting a happy couple - they are a perfect match; positive description of love
What might the underlying meaning of poem 112 be?
A sense of jealousy
Lovers gaze
Homoerotic relationships would be brought to an end by marriage
What does Sappho say in poem 118?
“Come my divine lyre speak to me”
What are the quotes from poem 114?
“Virginity where have you gone? You left me behind”
What are the implications of poem 114?
Loss of childhood/purity
No 2nd chance for women in the Ancient world
Loss of virginity for women is an actual physical change
What is poem 121 about?
Speaker tells lover to leave them for a younger woman because they don’t want to be the older one
What is poem 131b about?
Atthis is now repulsed by Sappho
Atthis may have left Sappho for Andromeda
What does Karinika say?
“Sappho deeply communicates female anxiety towards marriage”
What does poem 137 (I want to say something) show?
An argument
What does Sappho say in poem 137 (I want to say smth) ?
If they had nice things to say, they would’ve spoken properly
“A look of shame in your eyes”
Topos of pain of love
What does Sappho talk about in poem 168b (Gone are the moon + Pleaides)?
Ses abandoned by her lover + the moon + stars
Nights are slow
Isolation + loneliness
What are the quotes in poem 1?
“Who, Sappho is hurting you now?
“If she doesn’t love you now soon she will”
“Be my ally”
What are the quotes in poem 2 (leave Crete behind)?
“The whole plan is covered w the shadows of roses” (ref. Lesbos)
What does Skinner say?
“Masculine ideology is an inescapable background noise”
What is the quote from poem 32 (who gave their works)?
“Who gave their works + made me honoured”
What is the quote from poem 52? What does this mean?
“I don’t think I can touch the sky w my hands”
Reminder of mortality?
Unreachable aspirations?
What is poem 57 (what farm girl) about?
“What farm girl, in her farming clothes”
What does poem 57 tell us about Sappho?
She was judgemental of non fashionable, lower class people
Who says masculine ideology is inescapable background noise?
Skinner
What does poem 102 (sweet mother) tell us?
She is consumed by love + calls to her mother for help
Blames Aphrodite
What does Goldhill say about Sappho?
“Sappho has constantly been used to express female longing in a man’s world”
What did Burnett say about Sappho?
“Sappho’s aim was to teach girls how to be women”
Who says love appears as an overwhelming force?
Hollis
What does Kennedy say about love?
“Love can be described in terms also used for madness or illness”
