> If Sappho's poem were read by someone who didn't know who it was by,
> it would never occur to them that the man referred to in the first
> line is a bridegroom.
Indeed, and I'd go further -- in that situation, there would be no reason to
assume, or evidence in the poem, that the speaker of the poem was a woman
rather than a man.
> But since we know it's by Sappho, that
> possibility suggests itself because -- why? There's nothing in the
> writings of Sappho or any other ancient author to suggest the
> possibility.
Fragments 104-117, where Sappho explicitly mentions bridegrooms and brides,
might just possibly be considered relevant to this issue.
But you're right -- enough has been said.
Robin
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