Book Description
Ovids sensuous and witty poem brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales, ingeniously linked by the idea of transformationoften as a result of love or lustwhere men and women find themselves magically changed into new and sometimes extraordinary beings. Beginning with the creation of the world and ending with the deification of Augustus, Ovid interweaves many of the best-known myths and legends of ancient Greece and Rome, including Daedalus and Icarus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Pygmalion, Perseus and Andromeda, and the fall of Troy. Erudite but light-hearted, dramatic and yet playful, the Metamorphoses has influenced writers and artists throughout the centuries from Shakespeare and Titian to Picasso and Ted Hughes.
About the Author
OvidPublius Ovidius Naso(43 bcece 17 or 18) was born into a wealthy Roman family and became the most distinguished poet of his time. He died in exile on the Black Sea, far from Rome and his literary life. David Raeburn is a lecturer in classics at Oxford University. He has translated Sophocles and directed numerous school and university productions of Greek tragedies. Denis Feeney is a professor of classics at Princeton University.
Metamorphoses ANNOTATION
This new translation reproduces in modern idiom the graceful, fluent style of one of the great poets of classical antiquity.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
This volume presents the Latin text, with an Introduction and full commentary, of Book XIII of the Roman poet Ovid's long work Metamorphoses. It discusses in detail Ovid's treatment of his sources and sets out the ways in which he adapted earlier literature as material for his novel enterprise. Guidance is offered on points of language and style, and the Introduction treats in general terms the themes of metamorphosis and the structure of the poem as a whole.
SYNOPSIS
The classic verse collection of Greek and Roman myths, compiled by the urbane Roman poet Ovid about the turn of the era, is rendered into easily read modern English free verse by poet and translator Martin. He includes notes on nuances of his translation and on historical and literary allusions. A list identifying people and places and referring to their mention in the text suffices for an index. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR