Discoveries.

With all of the technology we have available to us now, we assume that we've found most of the ancient material that has survived since Roman and Greek times. This is why I was so excited to read about a brand new discovery - a poem by the Greek female love poet Sappho which hasn't been read aloud since roughly 300 AD (according to here - an alternative translation is also available at the bottom of the post)! 

A translation by Tom Payne, available here:

Still, you keep on twittering that Charaxos

comes, his boat full. That kind of thing I reckon

Zeus and his fellow gods know; and you mustn’t

make the assumption;

Rather, command me, let me be an envoy

praying intensely to the throne of Hera

who could lead him, he and his boat arriving

here, my Charaxos,

Finding me safely; let us then divert all

other concerns on to the lesser spirits;

after all, after hurricanes the clear skies

rapidly follow;

And the ones whose fate the Olympian ruler

wants to transform from troubles into better –

they are much blessed, they go about rejoicing

in their good fortune.

As for me, if Larichos reaches manhood,

[if he could manage to be rich and leisured,]

he would give me, so heavy-hearted, such a

swift liberation.

Another translation is available here. 

It's almost the entire poem which is surprising, usually only small fragments are found and only one complete poem of Sappho has survived! As a Classics student, I got so excited - it's hard to imagine people living that long ago so to find more pieces that were written and performed so long ago is incredible! 
There is also another poem that was discovered (both given to an Oxford Classics fellow together) which is only fragmented so it's an incredible discovery (a little on that here)!

If you want to read the full article with a little historical background and explanation, click here.

Jess xx

The writer and the philosopher.

Lately, I've been feeling like I should be doing homework and work which I haven't actually got any that I can do properly and it's causing me to put more unneeded pressure on myself. Does anyone else feel like this sometimes? 

Today I used my free to do some extra research work for my most recent English Lit and Classics lessons which was quite fun, I got to research about The Knight's Tale by Chaucer and then researched Friedrich Nietzsche for Classics! 

We're studying War in English which is covering Ancient Greece (a modern re-working of the Iliad) to World War 2 (The Ghost Road) so it's a really interesting module! I've always meant to look into the works of Chaucer as he is widely known as the Father of English Literature and the best poet of Medieval times so it's quite exciting getting to learn about him and his works! So far he seems pretty interesting and once I get time, I fully intend to read The Knight's tale in full as the story seems to be really interesting! 

We're reading the Iliad and the Aeneid in Classics so to introduce us to the topic, my teacher is doing some lessons that introduce the Greek and Roman concepts of Heroism which is also really interesting as it's quite different from modern times and they actually greatly differ from each other! It's quite philosophy based at the moment so it can be slightly hard to understand sometimes as I don't study it, but once it's all explained, I'm finding it all amazing! I was considering philosophy for AS level but I didn't want another essay subject, I regret that decision quite a bit sometimes! My teacher mentioned Nietzsche and as I'd heard of him before from when I studied The History Boys at GCSE (also another fantastic piece of work, I highly recommend the written play and the production) so I decided to research him which has been super interesting but sometimes a bit complicated as I've been clicking on links trying to understand concepts left, right and centre! 

I love this sort of researching work as I feel more like I'm becoming independent and closer to University work, I'm honestly so excited for September now, I just hope I get in! 

Jess xx

Piano

Piano - D. H. Lawrence
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

We had to look at this poem in English yesterday and I found it so beautiful and interesting. Our teacher played Clair de Lune to us while she read it and honestly, our class had never been so quiet. It's such a beautiful piece and it fits perfectly with the poem, I love them both.
I love poetry so much and I find it such a beautiful way of expressing words; if I find a poem I like I will make a note of it somewhere because then I can go back to it if I want some inspiration or want something to calm me or make me happy, there's a poem to create any emotion really!
I think Piano is such a nice and sweet but sad poem, it makes me think which is always a sign of something good. If something provokes thought then it's pretty awesome!
As a pianist myself, I find piano pieces beautiful, but this one actually gives me goosebumps. If you haven't had the chance to, listen to the link below, it's so peaceful and calm. Just sit somewhere with headphones in and shut your eyes, it's so worth it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY

If you want, tell me your favourite poems in the comments!
Jess xx