This was the first piece I wrote for Writing in Women last semester about the great Greek poet and teacher, Sappho.
As Carol Ann Duffy writes in the Preface of Stung with Love by Sappho, the “greatest poets are able, long after their deaths, to speak to our humanity” (viii). Sappho wrote nearly all of her poetry about the complexities and wonders that came along with being a human being in her time. What is most compelling about Sappho and her poems is that the majority of the issues and feelings that she wrote about, such as love, passion, and youth, still ring true to this day. People in the twenty-first century, although they live their lives differently, experience the same emotions that Sappho discusses in her poetry. It is the genuine experience and sentiment behind Sappho’s poems that make her such a great poet. In her work as a poet, Sappho becomes a teacher of lessons in humanity and human nature. Sappho’s poems have stood the test of time and to this day speak to humanity in a way that only great poems can. Through her consistent use of dramatic images and descriptions and her ability to connect with humanity and educate them on a certain level, Sappho has left an impression on the world that has survived over two thousand years after she left it.
Sappho’s poetry was written in a style that was different than most other poets of her time, making it truly unforgettable. Her poems were “melodic, intimate, sensual, and she wrote lyrics of love and desire, of loss and longing” (Duffy viii). Sappho’s poems were full to the brim with beautiful images, vivid descriptions, and powerful connections to nature and the world around her. She utilizes lunar imagery in a number of her poems, and references the power and allure of the moon various times. In one of her poems, she writes “A full moon shone, / And around the shrine / Stood devotees / Poised and in place. (11). In this fragment, Sappho is perhaps speaking of the group worshipping of a moon goddess such as Artemis. She may also be referencing a Pagan ritual, in which men and women would gather around an altar, or shrine, at night and worship the Goddess and the God by bringing down the energy of the full moon. Sappho’s striking imagery and description, even in such a short fragment, gives the audience the image of a heavy full moon, and the energy of the people gathered around it. In another of her poems, she writes “Star clusters near the fair moon dim / Their shapely shimmering whenever / She rises, lucent to the brim / And flowing over” (79). Sappho’s use of imagery and description in this poem make it easy to imagine the bright, beautiful moon that outshines these star clusters. The nature imagery that Sappho utilizes in both of these poems allows for a connection to be made between herself and her readers. These poems are easily relatable, as one has the opportunity to see the moon every night by simply looking outside the window.
Considered by Plato to be the Tenth Muse, Sappho inspired ideas of love, sexuality, and sensuality, seeming to be a goddess herself. She had interactions with gods and goddesses, both honoring them and asking for their help. In the world today, many people believe that they can speak to God and that God speaks to them, whether it is silent or spoken communication. Sappho also seems to believe this, as in one of her poem fragments she writes of an interaction with the goddess Aphrodite, in which she is asking for guidance in love. The goddess responds “‘She who shuns love soon will pursue it, / She who scorns gifts will send them still: / That girl will learn love, though she do it / Against her will’” (9). Sappho, perhaps not entirely convinced, asks Aphrodite to stand at her side in her battle and relates the troubles of her heart and her love to the injustice of war. Sappho’s contact with Aphrodite, the goddess that she seems most in tune with, presents to her readers the idea that supernatural beings, such as gods and goddesses, can play a part in daily life. This makes her poems something that anyone who holds a belief in a god or a goddess, or a combination of the two, can connect with. Since the majority of humanity believes in a supreme being, this is an idea that seems comforting and true. For those that do not believe in a higher power, Sappho’s poems may be read as a different way of viewing the world and what is out there. It is essential to remember when considering Sappho’s poetry that even though she wrote about magical and powerful experiences, such as two-sided paranormal conversations, she was indeed only a human. She experienced human emotions and dealt with the trials and tribulations that came along with her existence as a human being, just the same as everyone else. Her poems present readers with lessons on life and love, and show that she too felt pain and sorrow. One of her fragments reads, “The gorgeous man presents a gorgeous view; / The good man will in time be gorgeous, too” (83). Sappho provides a lesson here, that unfortunately many people do not learn until it is too late. A man or a woman who is beautiful on this outside may be nice to look at, but they may really only be something to look at. Someone with a beautiful face or body might turn out to have a horrendous personality. On the other hand, a good person, regardless of their outer appearance, will become physically appealing as a connection is made with them and as love grows. In her knowledge of the world around her, Sappho becomes a teacher and helps the rest of humanity to actually live instead of simply surviving.
It is believed by many people that Sappho was a teacher of young girls and women, and that she was a wise and intelligent woman. The things she taught these girls would not be considered curriculum in today’s public schools, but they are perhaps much more important than solving a math problem or memorizing the dates of a war. As explained in the Introduction by Poochigian, Sappho’s students would study poetry and art, and there was more of a focus on life lessons than anything else (xix-xxi). Sappho would teach lessons about love, hate, beauty, and perhaps most importantly, youth. In a number of her full poems and fragments, Sappho alludes to youth and how quickly it can fade. She advises her students, telling them “Girls, chase the violet-bosomed Muses’ bright / Gifts and the plangent lyre, lover of hymns: / Stiffness has seized on these once supple limbs, / And black braids with the passing years turned white” (45). Sappho is no stranger to the aches and woes of ageing, and warns her girls to get the most out of life while they can, and that they should take advantage of their youth while they still have it. A few lines later in the same poem, she makes the point of saying that “humans simply / Cannot be ageless like divinities” (45). Sappho acknowledged her own ageing and seems as though she has accepted that life cannot go on forever. In this poem, Sappho teaches her students, and the rest of humanity, that life is too short to be wasted. It seems that is of the utmost importance to Sappho that humanity does not lose sight of that, and that humans always remember to live their lives to the fullest.
Sappho has made an everlasting impact on the world of poetry and literature, as well as on humanity as a whole. Through her utilization of carefully crafted imagery and descriptive phrases, along with her ability to incorporate significant lessons into her poetry, Sappho has become known as not just a talented poet, but a wise teacher. She not only taught her students to appreciate life and the beauty that it holds, but she has also taught humanity to do the same. Her poems about the ethereal quality of the moon and of nature have enlightened people to the fact that beauty can be found right outside their window. Her lessons about love and the importance of getting the most out of life have had an eternal influence on the way that humans live today. It is not a simple feat to teach and mold the human race in the way that Sappho has done, and it is not a challenge to be taken lightly. She has impacted the lives and thoughts of so many people through the few poems and fragments that have been found, that it is hard to imagine how influential she would have been had more of her poems been discovered. There is no doubt that in the past two or three thousand years there have been few, if any, people who are worthy of standing up next to Sappho as the epitome of a truly great poet.
Works Cited:
Duffy, Carol Ann. “Preface.” Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Sappho. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. vii-viii. Print.
Poochigian, Aaron. “Introduction.” Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Sappho. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. xi-xl. Print.
Sappho. Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments. Trans. Aaron Poochigian. London: Penguin, 2009. Print.
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