Synopses & Reviews
Reading Sappho considers Sappho's poetry as a powerful, influential voice in the Western cultural tradition. Essays are divided into four sections: "Language and Literary Context," "Homer and Oral Tradition", "Ritual and Social Context", and "Women's Erotics". Contributors focus on literary history, mythic traditions, cultural studies, performance studies, recent work in feminist theory, and more.
A legendary literary figure, Sappho has attracted readers, critics, and biographers ever since she composed poems on the island of Lesbos at the close of the seventh century B.C. Bringing together some of the best recent criticism on the subject, this volume, together with Re-Reading Sappho, represents the first anthology of Sappho scholarship, drawing attention to Sappho's importance as a poet and reflecting the diversity of critical approaches in classical and literary scholarship during the last several decades.
Synopsis
Essays that aim to draw attention to Sappho's importance as a poet and to offer a sense of the lively debate and competiting critical positions within Sappho studies. Contents include: Sappho's amatory language ( Giuliana Lanata ); Eros and incantation: Sappho and oral poetry ( Charles Segal ); Sappho and Helen ( Page duBois ); Sappho and social context ( Judith Hallett ); Sappho's gaze: fantasies of a goddess and young man ( Eva Stehle ); Apostrophe and women's erotics in the poetry of Sappho ( Ellen Greene ).
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-286) and index.
About the Author
Ellen Greene is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Oklahoma.