Reading anything from more than a couple hundred years ago is difficult already, but adding the fact that large pieces of the text are missing makes it even more difficult to fully grasp, understand and analyze the text. I believe that one of the best tactics to understand something with so many parts missing like Sappho’s writing is using context clues. By reading all of the words that aren’t missing there are some words and ideas that can be used to ‘fill in the blanks.’ For example, it can be interpreted that on page 4, the lines that include “heart” and “having been stained,” are most likely going to have relation to pain, suffering and love, and once you continue to the next page the context supports that idea. I also believe that it is important to understand who the other is and what the civilization was like during the time the piece was written. In this case, Sappho was a (possibly lesbian) poet who lived on the island Lesbos. She was alive around 600 B.C. At the time, it was not uncommon for homosexuality to be present, so it would not be surprising had she been lesbian. Her history is important to understand also where her mind could have been and what reflections and connections she was making based on her life and the society she was living in. And lastly, I also think that for difficult readings like these, Google is your best friend. Not as a easy way out, but as a way to find and read other people’s ideas and grasp the reading more and be able to form your own opinion.