Carson in Sappho and Archilochus

Sappho: selection 24

Once again Love drives me on, that loosener of limbs,

bittersweet creature against which nothing can be done.

…...

But to you, Atthis, the thought of me has grown

hateful, and you fly off to Andromeda.

The concepts Carson mentions are present in this fragment from Sappho. Firstly, Carson talks about how eros is “sweetbitter” and how paradoxes like it explain eros. The first two lines convey the simultaneous love and hate that is present in eros. The phrase, “against which nothing can be done,” shows both the apprehension of the speaker to love, but also the desire to love; it is futile to fight love, yet the speaker wishes that love did not “drive them on”. Similarly, the use of the verb “drives” implies that the speaker has to be prodded and pushed to love, even though they are resistant or weary.

Secondly, Carson talks about eros being a verb. Thus it has motion and is dynamic. The fact that the beloved’s (Atthis) opinion of the speaker has changed is an example of the fluidity of love. What Atthis once loved, she now hates. In class we connected this idea to lust and how Carson argues that love is not long-term commitments, but ever-changing bursts of intense passion.

Thirdly, Carson defines eros such that it depends on a lack or want of something. One cannot have the beloved, and be experiencing eros; the old adage “you always want what you do not have” harkens back to eros. Here, the speaker is lacking the beloved Atthis, and thus the desire to have her is greater. The beloved scorns the speaker and flies off, thus intensifying the desire for the speaker.

Archilochus: selection 36

In wretchedness I lie here, gripped by longing,

lifeless, with bitter pain by the gods’ will

pierced through the bones.

             Carson’s ideas can be applied to this poem as well. First, the idea of eros being “sweetbitter” is displayed. The speaker is talking about love, but the diction used implies pain. The speaker feels wretched and lifeless, and their pain is piercing. This exemplifies the bitter part of eros. Love is understood to be sweet and happy, but the physical pain of the speaker and emotional turmoil stands in opposition to those ideas, thus highlighting the paradox present in eros.

Second, Carson defines eros as lacking or wanting something. In this fragment the speaker is “gripped by longing”, their desire and want is overpowering to the extent that they can only lie in wretchedness. Carson, when she discusses the importance of the triangle in her argument, highlights how something blocking love, can actually fuel desire. That idea is present in the poem, because the separation of the speaker from the beloved is increasing the desire, and pain, they feel.