Sappho Translations Essay

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The Anne Carson’s translation of Sappho’s untitled piece is both fragmented and abstract. The spacing, brackets, and choices of words all create ambiguity in Carson’s translation. Her first line, “I simply want to be dead” (Carson 185), is not concise due to the word “simply”. In my adaptation of Carson’s work, I decided to change “simply” to “frankly”. “Simply” is not a powerful enough word and because it suggests that the narrator finds it easy to deal with the pain of wishing death upon herself. “Frankly” is a definitive word, and it also conveys the feeling that the narrator is being direct and making a difficult, yet forthright statement despite the consequences of its dismal meaning. Carson stayed true to Sappho’s unusually wide spacing in between stanzas which makes the tone of the poem more concrete. The narrator is in despair and at a loss for words. She no longer wants to live, and therefore, it is hard for her to convey her feelings. The gaps between stanzas highlight her despondency. The poem is difficult for her to write, and so she dejects herself from sharing her thoughts. In turn, her verses emerge at a delayed rate. The first stanza ends with the line, “Weeping she left me” (185), which is an utterly somber phrase. The lovers’ separation has caused the narrator to emotionally break down. The next stanza presents the words that the narrator’s ex-lover left her with. The spaces in between the last line of the first stanza and the first line of the second stanza lead the reader to believe that the narrator has had to take the time to collect herself and muster the strength to share what her ex-lover has said to her, which is a very difficult action. There is once again several lines in between the second and the third stanza, and then the narrator coveys to the reader how she responded to her former girlfriend. It can be construed that the narrator

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