I Have Not Had A Word From Her

Sappho

Adverb

Noun

Frankly
I
Conjunction

Verb

Noun

wish
I
Pronoun
Verb

Verb

Noun

were
Pronoun

dead
Verb

When
she
left,
she
wept
Article Adjective
Noun
Pronoun
Verb Article
Pronoun
a
great
deal;
she
said
to
me,
Definite Article Verb
Auxiliary Verb Helping Verb Verb
Noun Pronoun
This
parting
must
be
endured, Sappho. I
Verb Adverb
go unwillingly.
Noun Verb
Verb Conjunction
Helping Verb
Adjective
I
said,
Go,
and
be
happy
Conjunction
Verb
Pronoun Verb
Adverb
but
remember
(you
know
well)
Pronoun Pronoun Verb
Verb
Conjunction
Noun
whom
you
leave
shackled
by
love
Conjunction
Noun
Verb
Pronoun
Verb
If
you
forget
me,
think
Conjunction
Pronoun
Noun Conjunction Noun
of
Conjunction

our
Adverb

gifts
Article

to
Adjective

Aphrodite
Adjective Pronoun

and
all
the
loveliness that
Adverb Article Adjective
Noun
all
the
violet
tiaras,
Adjective
Noun
Noun Conjunction
braided
Noun

rosebuds,
dill
and
Verb
Preposition Pronoun

Adjective

we

Noun

crocus
twined
around
your
young
neck
Noun
Verb
Preposition Pronoun Noun
myrrh
poured
on
your
head
Conjunction Preposition Adjective Noun Noun
Preposition
and

on

soft

mats

girls

with

Verb
shared

Adverb Adjective Pronoun

Adverb Verb

Conjunction

Preposition

all
that
they
most
wished
for
beside
Pronoun
them
Conjunction Adjective Noun Verb
Noun
Conjunction
Pronoun
while
no
voices
chanted
choruses
without
ours,
Adjective Noun
Verb
Preposition Noun
Conjunction Noun
no

woodlot

bloomed

in

spring

without

song

The poem tells the story of two lovers parting. The second lover tells the first lover that
she is leaving with a heavy heart because it is not her choice to go away. The first lover
then reluctantly gives her blessings to the second lover and wished he happiness but
mentioned for her to remember all their happy times together by describing the
wonderful experiences they shared.

The word the first lover is describing in the

poems title is goodbye. She didnt hear her lover said goodbye to her.
Sappho was a Greek lyrical poet, an aristocrat born between 630 and 612 B.C.E. She
married a rich merchant and had a daughter named Cleis. She spent most of her life
pursuing the arts on the island of Lesbos, a seventh century B.C.E. Greek cultural
center.
Rich women from all over the Mediterranean sent their daughters to Lesbos to study
under Sappho. Saphho wrote lyrical poetry (accompanied by lyre music that she also
wrote) expressing her love for her female students.
Sappho was one of the first poets to switch from writing from the view of the deities and
muses to writing in first person, expressing her own feelings. She was so influential that
the high Greek lyrical meter is now called sapphic meter.
The city-state of Lesbos minted coins with her image. Plato, the famous Athenian
philosopher, placed Saphho among the divine Muses. Solon, the famous Athenian

lawyer, is said to have asked to be taught to play one of her songs because I want to
learn it and die.
She was briefly exiled to Sicily because of her familys political activities. The people of
Syracuse were so honored by her visit that they erected a statue of her.
The modern words lesbian and sapphic to describe female homosexuality are derived
from the influence of her work.
Most 18th and 19th century lesbian poets cited Sappho as an important influence on
their work.
Unfortunately, only one complete poem has survived centuries of Christian and Muslim
censorship. Of the original nine volumes, only fragments of a few poems remain.
Sapphos poems are lyrical poetry which are intended to be accompanied by a musical
instrument (usually a lyre) but her poems took on a style of their own, thus we have the
Sapphic Verse. These are short, often fragmented, poems with a flowing quality in
them. The subject of Sapphos poems revolves around peoples lives, loves and events
which the readers know nothing about but still, because of their simplicity and clarity,
paints a clearly fascinating picture of what the poet wants to convey to her audience.
Her poems are filled with vivid images of everyday people in mundane situations made
interesting through her choice of simple words which are overflowing with emotions;
creating a tapestry of stories about happiness, loneliness, love lost and gained.

Kal-El Franco Renato R. Carasig

September 30, 2015

Grade VIII St. Joseph

Miss Madrid

Project in English

Sapphos
I Have Not Had A Word From Her