Product Description

The first English translation of one of the supreme masterpieces of Latin literature, Golding's Metamorphoses (1567) decisively influenced Shakespeare, Spenser and the character of English Renaissance writing. Ovid's deliciously witty and poignant epic starts with the creation of the world and brings together a series of ingeniously linked myths and legends in which men and women are transformed, often by love - into flowers, trees, stones and stars. This robustly vernacular version adds a Christian moral framework, clarifies obscurities and gives an English flavour to the rustic settings, thus making readily available to later writers a treasure-trove of comic, eerie and erotic tales.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9588 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-27
• Original language: Latin
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

About the Author
PUBLIUS OVIDUS NASO was born in 43BC in central Italy. He was sent to Rome where he realised that his talent lay with poetry rather than with politics. His first published work was 'Amores', a collection of short love poems. However he was expelled in A.D. 8 by Emperor Augustus for an unknown reason. He went to Tomis on the Black Sea where he died in A.D. 17. Mary M. Innes is a graduate of Glasgow and Oxford Universities.

Customer Reviews

More enjoyable than you would expect
This is an enjoyable translation of some of Ovid's finest work. Infinitely easier than going through the Latin yourself this is a fascinating read for anyone. With classics such as the story of Orpheus and Eurydice it is a must have for those interested in the ancient myths.

Melville's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses
If you are brave enough or mug enough to go for the Dryden translation of Ovid, good luck to you. For the academically lazier or more experienced, the OUP translation by Melville is a real treat. A light touch, playful in places, enjoyable throughout - I am not a classicist or a great fan of poetry but I found I couldn't put it down.

hmm...
Metamorphososes is on my reading list for a University module. I was really disappionted with this edition as although it is an ancient text, I expected a modern translation, which I didn't get. I spent more time trying to decipher the language than absorbing the story!