Sappho and Phaon

By Mary Robinson

"Sappho and Phaon" by Mary Robinson is a poignant sonnet sequence that breathes life into the legendary tale of the ancient poetess Sappho's tragic love. Robinson, known as 'the English Sappho,' was a pioneering female author and feminist trailblazer with a dramatic life s

• Language: English
• Publisher: Left of Brain Books
• Release date: Dec 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781396323379

Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson is President of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice. She served in two capacities as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change. She is the former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and is now a member of The Elders and the Club of Madrid. She has been awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the 2019 Charleston John Maynard Keynes Prize.

Book preview

SAPPHO AND PHAON

IN A SERIES OF

Legitimate Sonnets,

WITH THOUGHTS ON POETICAL SUBJECTS,

AND ANECDOTES OF THE GRECIAN POETESS.

BY MARY ROBINSON,

First published in 1796

Image 1

Published by Left of Brain Books

Copyright © 2023 Left of Brain Books

ISBN 978-1-396-32337-9

eBook Edition

Al rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations permitted by copyright law. Left of Brain Books is a division of Left Of Brain Onboarding Pty Ltd.

PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

About the Book

"Sappho here differs radically from the version that would emerge in the 19th century. In fact, this had really been the normative view of Sappho since the Renaissance. In this sonnet sequence, which does not appear to contain any actual lines from Sappho, Sappho is the tortured lover of a boatman, Phaon.

She follows him to Sicily, and finally leaps off the Leucadian cliffs to her doom. It is not unlikely that this tale of love gone wrong appealed to Robinson on a very personal level. Robinson, during her lifetime, was known as 'the English Sappho,' and has recently been rediscovered as a feminist trailblazer."

(Quote from sacred-texts.com)

About the Author

Mary Robinson, nee Darby (1757 - 26 December 1800) the English poet and novelist, was also known for her role as Perdita (heroine of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale) in 1779. It was during this performance that she attracted the notice of the young Prince of Wales, later King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland. Her affair with him ended in 1781, and Perdita"

Robinson was left to support herself through an annuity granted by the Crown (in return for some letters written by the Prince) in 1783 and through her writings. Today, she is remembered both as the first public mistress of George IV, and as a woman writer of the late 18th century."

(Quote from wikipedia.org)

CONTENTS

PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

PREFACE ............................................................................................ 1

ACCOUNT OF SAPPHO ....................................................................... 7

INTRODUCTORY .............................................................................. 11

THE TEMPLE OF CHASTITY .......................................................... 12

THE BOWER OF PLEASURE .......................................................... 13

SAPPHO DISCOVERS HER PASSION ............................................. 14

CONTEMNS ITS POWER .............................................................. 15

DESCRIBES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LOVE ............................... 16

INVOKES REASON ....................................................................... 17

HER PASSION INCREASES ............................................................ 18

LAMENTS THE VOLATILITY OF PHAON