Analyzing Alcman Fragment 26

Alcman  (Fragment 26)

No longer, maidens of honeyed speech and holy voice,

do my limbs have power to carry me. If only, ah, if only I

were a kerylos,

which wings its way with the halycons over the

            blossoming waves,

fearless at heart, that holy sea-purple bird.

‘no longer’- he does not have

‘honeyed speech’- woman is sweet on the man, flirting

‘holy voice’- women in the chorus with angelic voices that praise the gods of Olympus

‘do my limbs have power to carry me’- he is weak without women in his life because he feels sad and depressed.  He needs a woman to make him strong and lively. Weak because he can’t live without a woman

‘kerylos’- a bird of good omen

‘halycons’- kingfisher bird that nests by the sea so that the wind can protect its eggs. In greek mythology, Halycon was the daughter of the ruler of the winds. Halycon killed herself by throwing herself into the ocean because her husband had died while on his trip to Delphi. The Greek gods transformed her into a bird because they were touched by her everlasting love for her husband

‘blossoming waves’- the ocean

‘fearless at heart’- Alcman wants to fearless just like Halycon was when she threw herself in the ocean

Alcman does not have women in his life anymore and therefore feels weak and pities himself. He does not have a woman who likes him and has her eye on him. He needs a woman to make him feel whole and strong. He compares himself to kerylos, which is a bird of good omen, saying that he wishes he had good luck in his life. He wants to be a free spirit that is independent of women and does not need them to be happy. “Fearless at heart” refers to his desire to be strong and be able to live his life without having a woman hold him back.

When I annotated this section of the poem, I first read the whole thing and summarized what the overall message the stanza was trying to portray to its readers. Then, I take line by line and analyze more closely exactly what the meaning is. I looked up the words that I was unclear about and researched information so that I could get better tie the stanza together as a whole.

Sources

Greek Lyric

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halcyon_(genus)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Kerylos

http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/%22Nausicaa%22

http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/the-myth-of-halcyon-the-halcyon-days/