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A review by danielles_reads
Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works (2nd edition) by Sappho
informative
reflective
4.25
How can someone not be hurt and hurt again,
Mistress Aphrodite, by the person one loves
and not truly want relief from the suffering
you inflict?
(fr. 26)
Stars around the beautiful moon
hide away their radiant form
whenever in fullness she lights
the earth.
(fr. 34)
I had never read any of Sappho’s work before, and this was a great summary of what is left. I didn’t realize it was so fragmented… a good portion of the poems here range from one word to one sentence, which doesn’t give much. But I really appreciated all the context that both Rayor and Lardinois provided on Sappho’s life and the poems themselves. The notes on (almost) every fragment were really helpful too, and I like how they were separated from the actual poetry so that the reader can consume the content however they wish. I like how the notes constantly referred to other fragments, linking them together thematically and in terms of repeated subjects (it was funny though to see some of the commentary like “this is reminiscent of this fragment” based on like one similar word lol).
I had no idea Sappho wrote so many bawdy wedding songs! I also didn’t know that so much of what we know as Sappho’s work today comes from other writers in antiquity quoting her in later works! It was especially interesting to see ancient writers referencing her for linguistic reasons, to discuss her use of certain words or pronouns that were considered unusual. I also didn’t know that Sappho was such a player lol (so many romantic rivals and breakups) but it makes sense considering how she is remembered today.
I also liked Rayor’s explanation of her reasoning behind her translations, and how she focused on getting the original meaning across as accurately as possible while still sounding like poetry. “Beauty and precision in language need not be mutually exclusive.” I’ve always been fascinated by language, so it was really cool to see her discuss the meaning of certain Ancient Greek words in depth, and how she translated them in the past compared to the present.
I also liked how this edition didn’t shy away from the queerness of Sappho’s poetry and life (Rayor even translated some lines to be explicitly about women when the original Greek was gender neutral). From my cursory research it seems like some translators did not do this, so I wanted to mention it. I also want to point out these two fragments that together tell a very gay story lol that the authors commented on:
fr. 126: May you sleep on the breast of a tender girlfriend.
Commentary from 126: This line is quoted in a Byzantine etymological dictionary in order to explain the verb Sappho uses for “to sleep.” It is a suggestive line that may throw some light on fragment 94.21-23, where Sappho reminds another woman how she quenched her desire on soft beds.
Really this book just made me sad that we’ve lost so much of Sappho’s poetry. What we do know is so interesting, but there is so much missing. I wish we could truly experience her work!
Everyone always talks about the poetic fragments, but this one made me laugh out loud and is probably the one I’ll remember the most, lol. People never change 😄
[I] never met anyone more irritating, Eirana,
than you.
(fr. 91)