SAPPHO Flashcards
(24 cards)
quote of Sappho sharing personal experience
“Love shook my soul, like a wind buffeting oak trees on a mountain”
quote of Sappho giving advice
“A handsome man is only good to look at, a good man will become handsome”
quote of Sappho being reassuring and validating
“No, they did not completely miss you! They just couldn’t reach.”
modern scholar quote saying Sappho shares her emotional experience
“Because women poets are emotionally disturbed, their poems are psychological outpourings not intellectual but ingenious”-Mary Lefkowitz
Mary Lefkowitz quote
“Because women poets are emotionally disturbed, their poems are psychological outpourings not intellectual but ingenious”
modern scholar quote saying that Sappho isn’t sharing her personal experience because her poems were performative
“Sappho’s loss of voice In the context of a lyric tradition that is essentially performative, threatens to silence her altogether”-Dolores O’Higgins
Dolores O’Higgins quote
“Sappho’s loss of voice In the context of a lyric tradition that is essentially performative, threatens to silence her altogether”
modern scholar saying Sappho talks about societal pressures women face
“the emphasis on bridal virginity is a form of male oppression so that women can’t enjoy their own sexuality or reduce their value”-Freeman
Freeman quote
“the emphasis on bridal virginity is a form of male oppression so that women can’t enjoy their own sexuality or reduce their value”
quote of Sappho using mythology to protect her heart
“come to me again now, queen, release me from this great distress”-Sappho to Aphrodite
what was the purpose of her poetry
to entertain
who was her intended audience
anyone in weddings, symposia and sacrifices
social context of her work
her poetry suggests leisured lifestyles. Also the mention of changing fashions suggests a society motivated by status
poetic context of her work
she was influenced by Homer and she mentions the trojan war
what are the issues of fragmentary materials
most fragments were torn and in different locations
which literary devices does she use (3)
- shift of the narrator
- hyperbole
- priamel (list of metaphor comparisons)
what are her main themes (3)
- thoughts/emotions
- the fertility and changes of nature
- fruit (used metaphorically)
what references to mythology does she make (2)
- the homeric world
- the gods
does Sappho use humour
not often, but occasionally sexual humour
how does Sappho represent love and desire
she often compares love with death and is all-consuming and desire as ‘limb-loosening’.
how does Sappho represent men and women
she presents male desire in an obvious way although they’re mostly not in her erotic poetry. women are presented as flighty but their relationships with each other are tender
how does Sappho represent sex
she expresses sex through metaphor/allusion. she presents it as intimidating for young girls and that female sexuality is out of reach of men.
how does Sappho represent marriage
she presents it as a fun occasion and sometimes humorous
how does Sappho represent society and values
Sappho shows her ‘society’ which is her friendship and sexual relationships with her female friends. there was no shame in their homoerotic relationships because her poems were performed publicly
