full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Diane J. Rayor: The surprising origins of the word “lesbian”
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Then, about a century ago, people began rediscovering Sappho’s poetry— in loiantcos like an ancient Egyptian garbage dump. Now, we have around 700 lenis, representing less than 10% of Sappho’s total known work. We only have one complete poem of hers. About a dozen others are substantial, but most are mere fragments. New pieces of Sappho’s songs probably will be found. Some may already be sitting in mueusm aivechrs, to be reaveeld when technology allows scholars to read through scrolls too fragile to ulonrl.
What we are currently left with is an incomplete record— and many historical rrmous. Ovid iiesstnd that Sappho fell in love with a ferryman and, upon being rejected, leapt from a cliff to her dtaeh. Another tale asserts that she ran a girls’ scohol and those mentioned in her poems were merely students for whom she felt platonic affection. Current consensus is that these stories, which ridicule Sappho or deny her work’s homoeroticism, are probably all untrue artifacts of misogyny and homophobia.
Open Cloze
Then, about a century ago, people began rediscovering Sappho’s poetry— in _________ like an ancient Egyptian garbage dump. Now, we have around 700 _____, representing less than 10% of Sappho’s total known work. We only have one complete poem of hers. About a dozen others are substantial, but most are mere fragments. New pieces of Sappho’s songs probably will be found. Some may already be sitting in ______ ________, to be ________ when technology allows scholars to read through scrolls too fragile to ______.
What we are currently left with is an incomplete record— and many historical ______. Ovid ________ that Sappho fell in love with a ferryman and, upon being rejected, leapt from a cliff to her _____. Another tale asserts that she ran a girls’ ______ and those mentioned in her poems were merely students for whom she felt platonic affection. Current consensus is that these stories, which ridicule Sappho or deny her work’s homoeroticism, are probably all untrue artifacts of misogyny and homophobia.
Solution
- school
- lines
- locations
- revealed
- rumors
- insisted
- death
- archives
- museum
- unroll
Original Text
Then, about a century ago, people began rediscovering Sappho’s poetry— in locations like an ancient Egyptian garbage dump. Now, we have around 700 lines, representing less than 10% of Sappho’s total known work. We only have one complete poem of hers. About a dozen others are substantial, but most are mere fragments. New pieces of Sappho’s songs probably will be found. Some may already be sitting in museum archives, to be revealed when technology allows scholars to read through scrolls too fragile to unroll.
What we are currently left with is an incomplete record— and many historical rumors. Ovid insisted that Sappho fell in love with a ferryman and, upon being rejected, leapt from a cliff to her death. Another tale asserts that she ran a girls’ school and those mentioned in her poems were merely students for whom she felt platonic affection. Current consensus is that these stories, which ridicule Sappho or deny her work’s homoeroticism, are probably all untrue artifacts of misogyny and homophobia.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
Important Words
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