Trying to get a bit ahead on this project is proving a little more challenging than I was expecting. It didn't take to long for me to be bogged down in a book again. This time it is Augustine's City of God from my AD lit list. Its not that it is difficult, its rather well put together, its just over 1000 pages long.
Synopsis
It is a little hard to write a synopsis of such a fragmented collection of work, but I will try.
Sappho's work is about love and loving and is generally dedicated to Aphrodite and or Eros, the Goddess of love and the God of sexuality, respectively. Sappho was a composer of short works, often written to be sung. Within this collection there are also songs about marriage and of her girls at the school she ran. She even penned a few of Troy, though she is no epic poet.
Reflections
Maybe I'm just naive but I totally missed the gay elements that are supposedly in this text. I either didn't notice or just didn't render the innuendo or maybe the gay elements are more a modern reading on an older text. Then again, it could just be that her work is so sexualised in it's form, which it most certainly is.
Comparisons
This is the first collection of short poems I have read in this project. So far, there isn't much to compare it to. I do think it will provide a good foil to compare future poems to.
Have you read Sappho If so what did you think of it?
Want to read Sappho but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of Sappho.
Get a copy of Sappho.
