“The Maniac Widow”
The title character of this poem has lost her husband on the fields of battle. Her husband has gone off to war in the name of national pride. She is convinced that he will return one day. She prepares a laurel wreath to place upon his head like a crown when he returns.
Overcome with grief, she cannot accept that her husband has died in battle. She falls under the delusion of seeing his ship returning to her over the ocean. She hears his voice on the wind. This delusion flies in the face of having learned that he died buried in the snow without a funeral or grave.
The grief finally becomes too much. She climbs high onto a cliff and falls to her death in a suicidal with to rejoin with her beloved husband.
Spartans and Persians
“Thermopylae” recounts the famous battle which took place there which formed the basis for the popular film 300. The outnumbered Spartans are cast as distinct underdogs but the heroes of the battle because they were fighting for freedom.
The Persians are cast as an invading horde. They are barbarians from a faraway coast. Although the might of their vast army easily won the battle it is suggested that they lost the war as the Spartans have been hailed as brave heroes by history.
The leader of the Spartans, Leonidas, is mentioned by name as standing strong against the invading warriors armed with a weapon more powerful than the Persians. The Spartans, led by Leonidas, win a victory on the battlefield, of sorts, by their refusal to surrender and become slaves.
“Sappho”
The title character of this poem is the ancient Greek writer of lyric poetry. Since most of her writing has been lost to history she has become most famous as a symbol of lesbianism with her name being turned into the adjective sapphic used to describe love between two women.
In the opening lines of this poem she is situated as almost violently passionate and independent. It is also noted that she does not suffer insults or wrongs without fierce retaliation and retribution. Her heart, however, when wounded is completely broken.
Although associated with lesbian love, this poem reflects the commonality of earlier works which celebrate Sappho as a figure of heterosexual love. Her weeping over the death of a lover is distinctly framed in such terms with repeated male pronoun use to indicate the object of her passion.
“Romeo and Juliet”
Shakespeare’s doomed tragic lovers are at the center of this poem. An unidentified speaker contemplates the play late into the night. His thoughts raises questions about Juliet’s behavior and motivation.
His focus is on the moment in the play when the two lovers have finally managed to come together and express their devotion. And then arrives the time when Romeo must depart. But Juliet calls him back to her.
The speaker obsesses over why Juliet does this. He asks out loud why she calls him back. His answer is that their love was a burning fire, the very essence of passion, which was destined to inevitably consume them both.
