Mary Robinson - "Her Last Appeal to Phaon" (Post by Chris Kotecki)

Mary Robinson’s sequence of sonnets tells the story of Sappho and Phaon, which comes from Greek mythology. According to mythology, Phaon was an old, ugly ferryman until he met Aphrodite, who gave him an ointment that made him young and beautiful. Eventually, Sappho, an ancient Greek poet, fell in love with him. Although they had a relationship for a while, Phaon eventually grew to hate and despise Sappho and decided to leave her. Sappho was so hurt that she eventually committed suicide.
This story that Mary Robinson describes is essentially a metaphor for her own love life. While she was an actress, she attracted the attention of George IV, who asked her to be his first mistress and promising to pay her. After a while, George IV ended the relationship and cast Robinson aside. Living in poverty, Robinson later died at the age of 42.
The series of poems that Robinson wrote go in a chronological progression that documents the relationship of Sappho and Phaon. In “Her Last Appeal to Phaon,” Sappho makes her final effort to convince Phaon to stay with her. The poem is a Petrarchen sonnet, following the ABBA ABBA CDCDCD rhyme scheme.
In the first quatrain, Sappho is obviously very distraught and upset as she appeals to Phaon in desperation, hoping he will stay with her. She claims to be “deformed and mangled by the rocky deep,” most likely referring to the deep love that she felt for him. She also refers to her “fatal fondness” for Phaon, alluding to the fact that she will eventually commit suicide. She also mentions that she has “peerless,” or unmatched, “fame,” referring to the popularity of Phaon because of his newfound beauty. This is also an obvious metaphor for George IV, who desired to find other mistresses to satisfy his needs.
In the second quatrain, Sappho seems very defeated and tiresome, as though she has come to terms with her eventual death. She sees no reason in continuing her life without Phaon, and vows to end her own life. Although she still seems very distressed and relatively angry as she describes “death’s cold sleep,” she seems to have finally given up on Phaon. At the end up this second quatrain, we see the volta come into play. At this point, Sappho comes to the realization that after committing suicide, she will be able to live eternally in Heaven where she will be able to have “days less mournful.” She claims that she will no longer weep over her lost relationship, instead promising to turn all her attention and praise to Phoebus, the sun god. By committing suicide and living a life dedicated to Phoebus, she will be freed of her depression and despair over a love who left her for dead.