Sappho of Lesbos (5)

Publication Date: December 9, 2014

Chapter: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Literature

That fun fact is true! Very little of Sappho’s work survives today, and what work we do have is fragmented at best. While some of the poems are more or less complete, others like “Some there are who say that the fairest thing seen” are missing entire stanzas. The translators have to fill in the blanks, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes it’s relatively obvious what Sappho had written, but other times a translator just has to be a good poet themselves.

My point (yes, I have one) is that a lot of this ancient poetry isn’t strictly accurate, so if Sporkman should happen to be in your textbook, don’t be surprised.

Author: Sappho • Year: ca. 630 BCE • Info: Wikipedia

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About The Comic

Lit Brick is a comic started by Jodie Troutman in an effort to read the entire Norton Anthology of English Literature. Having eventually succeeded in that goal, it now features comics about all manner of random literature. For more of Jodie's work, visit longtalljodie.com!