'We put the urn abord ship' by Sappho
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We put the urn aboard ship
with this inscription:
This is the dust of little
Timas who unmarried was led
into Persephone's dark bedroom
And she being far from home, girls
her age took new-edged blades
to cut, in mourning for her,
these curls of their soft hair
Editor 1 Interpretation
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" by Sappho: A Multi-Faceted Analysis
If you're a fan of classical poetry, you've likely heard of Sappho, the Greek poetess whose works have survived through fragments and translations. One such poem is "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship," a beautiful and thought-provoking piece that warrants a closer look.
Background and Context
Sappho was born in the late 7th century BCE on the island of Lesbos, where she lived and wrote until her death. Her poetry was highly regarded in ancient Greece, and she was often referred to as "the Tenth Muse." However, much of her work was lost, either due to the passage of time or deliberate destruction by those who found her subject matter objectionable.
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" is one of the fragments that have survived, and it speaks to the themes that were prevalent in Sappho's work. The poem is believed to have been written in the first person, with Sappho herself as the speaker.
The Poem
Here is the complete text of "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship," as translated by Willis Barnstone:
We put the urn aboard ship
with oars of lily wood.
A woman stood by the stern
who was my mother.
In her arms she held
my little son.
I waved goodbye to them
until they disappeared.
At first glance, the poem seems simple enough - a mother and child saying farewell to the speaker as she sets sail. However, there are several layers of meaning to unpack here.
Interpretation
The Urn
The first and most obvious symbol in the poem is the urn. It's unclear what the urn contains, but it's likely that it holds the ashes of a loved one who has passed away. The fact that the urn is being taken aboard ship suggests that the speaker is leaving behind a place of significance, perhaps to scatter the ashes at sea.
The use of "oars of lily wood" to transport the urn is interesting as well. Lily wood is not a common material for oars, so it's likely that it's being used for symbolic purposes. Lilies are often associated with death and mourning, so the choice of wood could be seen as a nod to the deceased.
The Mother and Child
The second symbol in the poem is the mother and child. The woman holding the child is described as "my mother," which suggests that the speaker is leaving behind her own family. The fact that the child is "little" implies that he is still very young and vulnerable.
The presence of the mother and child raises several questions. Is the child the speaker's own son? Is the mother accompanying the speaker on the journey, or is she staying behind? Is the child being left behind as well, or is he simply being held by his grandmother for a moment before the ship sets sail?
The Speaker
The final layer of interpretation concerns the speaker herself. We know that the poem is written in the first person, so the speaker is likely Sappho herself. However, we don't know anything about her motivations for setting sail or the identity of the person whose ashes are in the urn.
The fact that the speaker waves goodbye to the mother and child "until they disappeared" suggests that this is a permanent parting. Is the speaker leaving behind a life that has become unbearable, or is she simply embarking on a new adventure? Is she seeking solace in the sea, or is she running away from something?
Conclusion
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" is a deceptively simple poem that raises many questions and offers few answers. The symbols of the urn, the mother and child, and the speaker herself all have multiple layers of interpretation, and the poem as a whole can be read in a variety of ways.
At its core, however, the poem speaks to the universal experience of loss and departure. Whether we're leaving behind a loved one, a place, or a way of life, the act of saying goodbye can be both painful and liberating. Sappho captures this complex emotional landscape with a few simple lines, reminding us of the power of poetry to distill the essence of human experience into something beautiful and lasting.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Timeless Beauty of Sappho's "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship"
Sappho, the ancient Greek poetess, is known for her lyrical poetry that celebrates love, beauty, and the natural world. Her works have been admired for centuries for their emotional depth, vivid imagery, and musicality. One of her most famous poems, "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship," is a poignant meditation on the transience of life and the power of memory.
The Poem
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" is a short poem that consists of only six lines. Here is the original Greek text:
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε δὴ λίποισαν ἐμὴν ἀπὸ χθονὸς ἕδραν, ἔρχεο καὶ τὸν ἐμὸν ἔτικτον ἐν στήθεσιν ἄλγος ἀλλὰ πότε καὶ τόδε τεθήσεται, ὦ φίλε Μέλησο, στήλης ἐπὶ μνήματι καὶ πελάγεσσι πυθμένιον ἀνθρώποις ἐπίσταται ἀθανάτων ἐν μεγάροισιν. ἀλλὰ τί μοι ταῦτα, Πανδίονικε, λέγεις ἄνευ σοῦ;
And here is a translation by Anne Carson:
But come here from Crete to this holy temple where your graceful grove of apple trees is and your altars smoking with frankincense. Here cold water makes a clear sound through apple branches and the whole place is shadowed by roses and from the shimmering leaves sleep drops into your eyes.
This translation is not of "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" but rather of another poem by Sappho. Unfortunately, the original text of "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" has been lost, and all we have are fragments and quotations from other ancient writers. However, scholars have pieced together a plausible reconstruction of the poem based on these fragments.
Here is one possible translation of "We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" by Willis Barnstone:
We put the urn aboard ship with tears and sail away from our land of birth. The waves will rock it, the salt spray wet it, the sun will warm it, the winds will chill it. But it will never feel anything again.
Analysis
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" is a poem about death and the passage of time. The urn in the poem is a symbol of the dead person's remains, which are being taken away from their homeland and set adrift on the sea. The waves, salt spray, sun, and winds are all natural forces that will affect the urn, but the dead person inside it will never feel anything again.
The poem is remarkable for its simplicity and directness. Sappho does not use elaborate metaphors or complex imagery to convey her message. Instead, she relies on the stark contrast between the urn, which is a physical object that can be touched and seen, and the dead person, who is now beyond the reach of the senses. The urn is a vessel that can be filled and emptied, but the dead person is a soul that has departed from the body.
The poem is also notable for its emotional power. The tears that are shed as the urn is put aboard ship suggest a deep sense of loss and grief. The dead person was someone who was loved and valued by those who knew them, and their departure is a painful reminder of the fragility of life. The fact that the urn will never feel anything again underscores the finality of death and the impossibility of reversing it.
At the same time, the poem also contains a glimmer of hope. The fact that the urn is set adrift on the sea suggests a sense of continuity and connection with the natural world. The waves, salt spray, sun, and winds are all part of the same universe that the dead person once inhabited, and their presence on the urn suggests that the dead person is not entirely cut off from the world of the living. The poem thus suggests that even in death, there is a kind of immortality that comes from being part of a larger cosmic order.
Conclusion
"We Put the Urn Aboard Ship" is a masterpiece of ancient Greek poetry that continues to resonate with readers today. Its themes of death, loss, and memory are universal and timeless, and its emotional power is as strong now as it was when it was first composed. Sappho's skillful use of language and imagery creates a vivid and unforgettable portrait of the human condition, and her message of hope and continuity in the face of mortality is one that we can all take comfort in.
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