Sappho and Shakespeare: Aristotelian Views on Relationships

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he defines different relationships that people experience; youthful, incidental, and pure. Youthful relationships focus on strong emotions and intense passionate feelings between two individuals. Incidental relationships involve two individuals of drastically different ages, most notably mortals and deities. Pure relationships involve two individuals who are morally good and want nothing but the best for one another, showing their pure goodness. Though they lived several centuries apart, Sappho and Shakespeare display all three relationship types in their writings. Sappho showcases each type of relationship in her poetry, while Shakespeare most notably portrays all three relationships in Romeo and Juliet. Comparing Aristotle’s types of relationships between Shakespeare and Sappho showcases the relativity between a well-known playwright and a lesser-known poet. Through the lens of Aristotle’s definitions of relationships, Sappho’s poetry and Romeo and Juliet are compared. Despite their differences, portraying the same types of relationships in their writings showcases how both Sappho and Shakespeare’s relatability withstand the test of time.