William Chiu

From reading the first few poems of Sappho, I could clearly see the difference between her writing style in comparison to that of the male writers we have studied in the past. Throughout the reading of the poems I felt as if I was in a dream state in which I felt at ease and time was at a slow pace with everything happening in the softest of ways. It was almost a breath of fresh air to read literature dealing with love and and emotions as opposed to war and trickery. Most apparent of this mood is when she writes about the marriage Hektor and Andromakhe and says, "the sound of the cymbals, and then the maidens sang in clear tones a sacred song and a divinely-sweet echo reached the sky..." Upon reading this, I imagined I was sitting in the back of a wedding ceremony where the setting is dimmed to a romantic lighting with music sung softly to the hearts most most sensual desires. The feeling of sensuality is further felt when she describes the rush of sensation her body experiences from the close proximity of being close woman she desires. She describes her lust as by having "instantly a delicate flame runs beneath my [her] skin." The language of the poetry also appear to have a direct meaning without much confusion as to the meaning of the connection of words.