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- In this particular poem, Sappho brings up the topic of Helen and the city of Troy. She expresses her desire to admire Helen's beauty rather than the horrors of the Trojan War. She would rather speak of a beautiful woman's glowing face than the death that awaits the fighting men.
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What does Sappho say about beauty in Fragment 16?
How does Sappho use Helen's Love for Paris?
What does Sappho say about the most beautiful thing on Earth?
What does Sappho say about beauty and love?
Why is Helen important in Sappho's fragment 16?
Why is Sappho 16 a love poem?
In fragment 16, Sappho uses Helen's love for Paris (depicted here in a painting by Jacques-Louis David) as an example of her claim that the most beautiful thing in the world is whatever one most loves. Sappho 16 is a fragment of a poem by the archaic Greek lyric poet Sappho.
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Similar Poetry
‘The Anactoria Poem’ by Sapphois a love poem with philosophy at its heart in which Sappho considers what is beautiful and what is meaningful. In the stanzas of this piece, Sappho, or at least the speakershe’s channeling for this poem, addresses the nature of beauty and love. She knows that what she loves is that which her lover, Anactoria loves. Sh...
‘The Anactoria Poem’ by Sappho is a five-stanza poem that is separated into sets of four lines, known as quatrains or, especially in this case, Sapphic stanzas. This refers to a stanzathat is made up of four lines, the first three of which contain eleven syllables and the last which contains five syllables. The poem does not follow a strict rhyme s...
Sappho makes use of several literary devices in ‘The Anactoria Poem.’ These include but are not limited to caesura, allusion, and enjambment. The latter is a formal device that occurs when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. For example, the transitionbetween lines two and three of the first stanza and lines three and four o...
Stanza One
In the first lines of ‘The Anactoria Poem,’ the speaker begins by suggesting some of the things that people find beautiful. These include fleets of ships and foot soldiers, grand sights that would likely feel more sublimeand awe-inspiring than loving and warm. The word “but” in the third line of this stanza immediately informs the reader that the poet’s speaker does not feel the same way. She declares that her lover’s preferences are the most beautiful thing to her. If this person, Anactoria,...
Stanzas Two and Three
While it might seem like a hard thing to understand, Sappho knows this isn’t true. She thinks it’s easy to make others understand what this is like. She makes a comparison, through an allusion, to Helen of Troy who abandoned her husband. He was the “best of / men” she says. This is at odds with the popular depiction of Menelaus today but works in Sappho’s favor in proving her point. Helen was willing to leave her husband, her home, her parents, and her child behind in favor of wandering aroun...
Stanzas Four and Five
Helen forgot them all and she couldn’t remember loving anything except the longing in her heart. She “lost her way” by stepping off the path that seemed to be the right one for her. In the same way that Helen left her husband, family, and home behind, Sappho states that she’d rather see and love what Anactoria loves than “gaze on / all the troops in Lydia.” Their glistening armor is nothing compared to “her sparkling glance.” She’s suggesting that no matter what anyone else thinks, it’s what...
Readers who enjoyed ‘The Anactoria Poem’ should also consider reading some of Sappho’s other poems. For example: 1. ‘XII’ – explores the purpose of love in one’s life and the pain it can cause. In this piece, the speaker begins by discussing a dream she had in which she spoke to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. 2. ‘He is More Than a Hero’ – describe...
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- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
In this particular poem, Sappho brings up the topic of Helen and the city of Troy. She expresses her desire to admire Helen's beauty rather than the horrors of the Trojan...
Feb 25, 2006 · Fragment 16. Some say it's a force of cavalry, others of foot, others of ships, but I say that the most beautiful thing upon the black earth is whatever it is you desire.
Feb 12, 2018 · In Fragment 16, arguably Sappho’s most sublime poem, fortunately well preserved albeit a little tattered, her definition of beauty anticipates the maxim of the philosopher, Protagoras that...
Apr 26, 2016 · The poem begins with a reflection on what “some people say” is the most beautiful thing on earth: a host of horsemen, or of foot soldiers, or of ships. Sappho contrasts these militaristic images of masculine Homeric kleos with her own evaluative judgment: “But I say it is whatsoever someone loves.” There is a marked openness and ...
Fragment 16 Some men say an army of horse and some men say an army on foot and some men say an army of ships is the most beautiful thing on the black earth. But I say it is What you love.
