Sappho 94

Sappho 94, sometimes known as Sappho's Confession,^[1] is a fragment of a poem by the archaic Greek poet Sappho. The poem is written as a conversation between Sappho and a woman who is leaving her, perhaps in order to marry, and describes a series of memories of their time together in order to lessen the pain of separation.^[2]

Preservation

The poem was preserved on a sixth-century piece of parchment discovered in Egypt, along with four other fragments of Sappho.^[2] This papyrus, Papyrus Berol. 9722,^[3] is part of the collection of the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. Parts of ten strophes of the poem are preserved. As only two lines of the first stanza of the poem are preserved; thus at least one line is missing.^{[lower-alpha 1][4]}

Poem

The poem is composed in strophes of three lines, the first two glyconic and the third glyconic with dactylic expansion.^[5] It was part of Book V of the Alexandrian edition of Sappho's poetry.^{[lower-alpha 2][6]}

The poem is typical of Sappho's work, with both its subject and form both characteristically Sapphic.^[7] It deals with separation from someone the poet cares about – other significant fragments of Sappho, including the Ode to Aphrodite, fr. 16, and fr. 31, deal with the same theme.^[7] Likewise, the form of the poem – structured as a conversation Sappho has had – has parallels in the Ode to Aphrodite, and probably fragments including Sappho 95.^[8]

The poem begins in media res, with at least one prior line missing.^[9] The first surviving line of the fragment has either Sappho or the woman leaving her saying that they long to be dead; as it stands, it is not possible to determine with certainly to which speaker the line should be attributed.^[2] Most scholars attribute the initial line to Sappho, though the first editor of the poem initially thought that it was spoken by the departing woman,^[10] as have some recent commentators such as Stephanie Larson.^[9]

The first two surviving strophes of the poem establish the scene. Sappho describes the girl leaving her "weeping"^[11] and saying that she leaves unwillingly.^[12] In the third strophe, Sappho replies, telling the departing girl that she should "Go happily and remember me".^[13] The remaining seven strophes of the poem consist of Sappho recalling the happy times that she has shared with the girl.^[2] Many commentators have interpreted this as Sappho attempting to console her departing companion; John Rauk, however, argues that the work was not intended as a poem of consolation but as a lament for Sappho's loss of her lover.^[14]

The eighth stanza of the poem has been subject of much scholarly debate.^[2] This reads:

and on soft beds
... delicate...
you quenched your desire.^[1]

1. ^ Sappho 94.21–23

The lines may be the only clear reference to homosexual activity in the preserved fragments of Sappho.^[15] Not all commentators agree with this, however; Larson notes that scholars "have made every attempt" to "explain away the overt sexuality" of the lines.^[16] One suggestion, originating with Wilamowitz, is that the poem is referring to satisfying the departing girl's desire for sleep.^[17]

Notes

References

Works cited

• Burnett, Anne (1979). "Desire and Memory (Sappho Frag. 94)". Classical Philology. 74 (1). 
• Campbell, David A., ed. (1982). Greek Lyric I: Sappho and Alcaeus. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 
• Larson, Stephanie (2010). "τεθνακην δ' αδολως θελω: Reading Sappho's "Confession" (fr.94) through Penelope". Mnemosyne. 63 (2). 
• McEvilly, Thomas (1971). "Sappho, Fragment 94". Phoenix. 25 (1). 
• Rauk, John (1989). "Erinna's Distaff and Sappho Fr.94". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. 30 (1). 
• Rayor, Diane; Lardinois, André (2014). Sappho: A New Edition of the Complete Works. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
• Robbins, Emmet (1990). "Who's Dying in Sappho Fr. 94?". Phoenix. 44 (2).