poem 26 first draft

poem 26 first draft

Aziz Sanogo                                 Spring 2018                             ENG 2800 Poem 26 written by Sappho an archaic Greek is a poem that describes, explains and demonstrates by using key words how a human being can be disappointed and feel vulnerable due to the behavior of the people she loves the most. The main character is saddened and outraged because the people she tends to care the most for betray her. Yet  based on this particular fragment we can’t affirm with certainty what exactly happened to her. Although, while reading this fragment we can relate to this situation and perceive her frustration. However our understanding of the poem is the main character’s sadness. Sappho the archaic Greek poet is best known for her poem about love and women. Effectively, her poem 26 is a powerful story about the main character disappointment toward people she loved. Furthermore based on this particular fragment in the poem we can’t tell in details and also with certainty what she experienced but we know for sure that she frustrated and disappointed in people especially the ones she treats well. Sappho says “frequently for those I treat well are the ones who most of all harm me”. For example by using “ Harm me” it can be interpreted as a pretty sad image and sound aggressive but it for sure emphasizes and describes the best her pain and frustration. It is really difficult to go through this type of situation in life experience; as human being we always expect people we love and care the most for to love us back and treat us equitably. In the poem it is really difficult to explain what exactly happened to the main character due to the fragmentary and unknowable nature of the text but it is definitely possible to feel her sadness. Sappho says,”] frequently”. We are noticing this bracket at the very beginning of the poem which can have different meanings and interpretations. For instance using brackets can means that she is grouping those people that hurt her in the same category or also it can mean that she is putting that belief of being nice to people aside for a period that’s the reason why the bracket comes right before the word “ Frequently” and this evidence let us understand the uncertainty in the poem which is what happened in order for the main character to get hurt. Nevertheless, you feel the main character’s frustration and somehow her feeling of regret because she is hurt and seeing herself vulnerable. Second of all, the main character in this poem is an unhappy person who is suffering for being too nice by investing herself into the different relationship she has with her loved ones and not getting back in return what she deserves. Instead she is getting back the feeling of sadness or disenchantment. This behavior of the people she treats well puts her vulnerable position. Sappho in this part of the poem let us understand her pain. Sappho says, “] you, I want to suffer in myself I am aware of this”. That literally means that she aware of the fact that she’s vulnerable, it is really painful and she is suffering from it. It is painful to invest yourself 100% into a relationship whether it be with a friend, family member or partner and in return being treated unfairly. With the description of the main character’s pain in the poem, Sappho tells a story base on the fragment, what caused her pain by granting how she wants to hurt those people who hurt her. She is describing how being nice can be bad for ourselves. Also, we are experiencing a fragment in this part of the poem we can’t be sure about what she meant but base on the her bad mood in the poem we understand she is expressing her anger .Sappho says,”]crazy/]”. Usually when people get angry they say things they don’t necessarily mean, cry or use vulgar language especially when they’re going through crisis like the main character does in this poem. And it is more painful when it comes from the people we love the most and we treat well.  The main character seems to be such a nice person in the poem who only mistake has been to treat her loved ones very well and not getting the love back in return. Definitely, in Sappho’s poem 26 appears an awareness which is one of the biggest them of the poem. Awareness as the ability to directly perceive and feel events. The main character as a painful person only base on the fact that she has been such a caring person is aware of what she experienced. Sappho says,”]in myself /aware of this” .Certainly, everybody make a mistake and learn from it. She is at that level where she learned from her mistake which was her vulnerability and she is taking action in order to avoid it in the future. The theme awareness explains what the main character learn from her experience. Sappho’s poem 26 although fragmentary is a powerful story focused on the main character’s disappointment base on her vulnerability. The author in this poem led us to understand how harmed we can get from people who love the most. In addition the poem is a strong explanation of how a nice person can turn into bad just to the point of regretting whatever good she has done and want only to see people from who she got hurt suffering. However, we can’t really be sure about our arguments because of the fragments in the poem. Nevertheless, we clearly understand and perceive her frustration in the poem.