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| John Donne |
In John Donne's "Sappho to Philaenis," Sappho is complaining about the unrequited love of Philaenis, a female friend.
Tribade: a woman who has sex with other women, or penetrate men and women with what was perceived to be an enlarged clitoris.
Martial's Epigram 91. "Ad Bassam tribadem" questions whether female-female sex, or tribadism, is considered adultery by invoking the known greek goddess tribade, Bassa.
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| Sappho |
Ventriloquize: the poet-speaker takes on the voice of a character of the opposite gender to give/impose their views on the opposite gender as if it the characters actual point of view.
John Donne's "Sappho to Philaenis" takes on the voice of Sappho speaking to her unrequited love Philaeis.
Feminine Erotic Friendship: friendship between women that could be perceived as homoerotic, generally elevated to a higher level of friendship and love than heterosexual love.
In "Cloe to Artimesa", the female friendship bond is elevated as "pleasures for their [men] gross senses too refined" (Line 8).
John Donne's "Sappho to Philaenis" takes on the voice of Sappho speaking to her unrequited love Philaeis.
Feminine Erotic Friendship: friendship between women that could be perceived as homoerotic, generally elevated to a higher level of friendship and love than heterosexual love.
In "Cloe to Artimesa", the female friendship bond is elevated as "pleasures for their [men] gross senses too refined" (Line 8).
