Sappho: Poems and Fragments Lesson Plan

Fragment 16 begins with a "priamel," which is a rhetorical device in which a series of alternatives is listed before the final object of the poem. Explain, specifically, how the priamel functions in this fragment and the effect it has on the reader.

The speaker begins the poem by mentioning three war images: an army on horseback, an army on foot, and an army on ships. These images call to mind vast numbers of people poised to enter conflict. This provides sharp contrast to the final idea—the subject of the poem and the thing which the speaker sees as the most beautiful thing on earth—"what you love." This item on the list is a dramatic shift in scale, taking the poem...