[VUJ]≡ [PDF] Metamorphoses Penguin Classics Ovid David Raeburn Denis Feeney Books

Metamorphoses Penguin Classics Ovid David Raeburn Denis Feeney Books

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Metamorphoses Penguin Classics Ovid David Raeburn Denis Feeney Books

I got the book to use for an online course in Greek and Roman Mythology. For the course, we only read books 3, 12, and 13. But I wanted MORE! I found Ovid's METAMORPHOSES addictive. In 15 books, Ovid presents fabulous stories about humans or demigods that undergo miraculous transformations. These stories were mostly familiar to its original audience. It was Ovid's take on the material that made it a literary sensation. The metamorphoses invariably take place at a time of extreme emotional stress, usually terror or grief, and come about as a deity's reward for behavior that pleases or displeases him or her. Most often the change is to some kind of bird and the protagonist flies away from his troubles. But characters change to all sorts of other fauna, including dolphins, swine, spiders, frogs, and fish. Others turn into trees or flowers. A few turn into rocks or mountains. More than a few are transformed into rivers or streams. Some characters change sexes. While these stories may have originally been intended as moral lessons, Ovid turns them into something deeper and more affecting. He makes us feel what it's like to have one's skin turn into tree bark and one's feet stuck in the ground and unable to move while fingers sprout leaves. In the final book Ovid ties all the stories together thematically and expounds some potent philosophy in the work's most magnificent poetry. It is easy to see Ovid's influence on Shakespeare throughout the book. Ovid's METAMORPHOSES is a major building block in Western culture. It contains virtually all of the major Roman myths that are referred to constantly by the writers and artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Familiarity with Ovid is guaranteed to enhance one's appreciation of Western art, literature, and music. A trip to the library, the concert hall, or the art museum is bound to be enriched. Raeburn's verse translation uses heightened language that is nevertheless unpretentious. He hits just the right tone. I wish I had read this several decades ago. Five stars.


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Metamorphoses Penguin Classics Ovid David Raeburn Denis Feeney Books Reviews

This is sort of the go-to if you want to read Greek/Roman mythology, but sometimes it can be difficult keeping the names straight (Zeus is also referred to as Jupiter and Jove, for example). Also, some of the translation may be open to interpretation. Overall though, it's worth the read.
needed for a class
The edition is NOT translated by David Raeburn.
How can one say negative things about a work that is 2,000 years old? This was the translation reccomended in a college level mythology class. It is clear and understandable. The myths themselves are entertaining, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic. Many of the famous myths are here as well as some lesser known ones. We only had to read a small portion of this for class but it was so entertaining I read the whole thing on my own time. I got the version. Some of the poetry lined up in weird ways, but only for a few verses.
Why has it taken me so long to get into these stories that are so much part of the cultural fabric of the West? I think I can answer that - before the print of the penguin edition was horribly small. An excellent collection of poems
I very much enjoyed the translation. It is clear, lively, and poetic both in form and sense.

This work is important as a treasure trove of mythological material and transformation of the self. It is deeply mystical and also important to the study of classical mythology. There is so much in the book that it is hard to summarize what I like about it in a review. It is an important work well translated. If that was all, I'd give it 5 stars.

However, the book design is another matter. The book wastes a LOT of whitespace and adds unnecessary line breaks which are jarring to the reading of the poetry. I have to wonder whether this was motivated by price (larger book, higher cost) or whether it was just simply due to lack of review of alternatives. For example, a slightly wider page, a slightly smaller font, or even a narrower margin could have avoided this problem. One gets the distinct impression that nobody was really reviewing the design. It's a shame really. The book could have used a lot less paper and been easier to read. For this I have deducted a star. It's still a book I'd recommend, but no longer as highly as I would have.
Good, readable translation. Reads like a novel, which is what I was looking for. The stories are more violent than I expected - a lot of rape. And being changed into a tree or a stream is no joke either.

But since Shakespeare quotes Ovid's mythology in almost every play, it is useful to know what he is referring to, without consulting the footnotes every few seconds.
I got the book to use for an online course in Greek and Roman Mythology. For the course, we only read books 3, 12, and 13. But I wanted MORE! I found Ovid's METAMORPHOSES addictive. In 15 books, Ovid presents fabulous stories about humans or demigods that undergo miraculous transformations. These stories were mostly familiar to its original audience. It was Ovid's take on the material that made it a literary sensation. The metamorphoses invariably take place at a time of extreme emotional stress, usually terror or grief, and come about as a deity's reward for behavior that pleases or displeases him or her. Most often the change is to some kind of bird and the protagonist flies away from his troubles. But characters change to all sorts of other fauna, including dolphins, swine, spiders, frogs, and fish. Others turn into trees or flowers. A few turn into rocks or mountains. More than a few are transformed into rivers or streams. Some characters change sexes. While these stories may have originally been intended as moral lessons, Ovid turns them into something deeper and more affecting. He makes us feel what it's like to have one's skin turn into tree bark and one's feet stuck in the ground and unable to move while fingers sprout leaves. In the final book Ovid ties all the stories together thematically and expounds some potent philosophy in the work's most magnificent poetry. It is easy to see Ovid's influence on Shakespeare throughout the book. Ovid's METAMORPHOSES is a major building block in Western culture. It contains virtually all of the major Roman myths that are referred to constantly by the writers and artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Familiarity with Ovid is guaranteed to enhance one's appreciation of Western art, literature, and music. A trip to the library, the concert hall, or the art museum is bound to be enriched. Raeburn's verse translation uses heightened language that is nevertheless unpretentious. He hits just the right tone. I wish I had read this several decades ago. Five stars.