How to Read Ovid's Metamorphoses (Introductory Lecture) (Patreon)

It’s time to begin our journey through one of the most captivating, sweeping, and epic treasure troves of mythological stories: Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Our reading will teach us about the power of myth, heroes, gods, history, epic, tragedy, comedy, destructive love, self-understanding, transformation, nature, time, fate, the value of art, the human condition, and much more.

We will also meet some of the most phenomenal and iconic personages in all of written record and, as they have lessons to teach us, we will ultimately meet ourselves.

Today we’re discussing how best to break into this breathtaking work of classical literature and bring ourselves fully to this magical masterpiece.

Video Timestamps:

0:00 why read Ovid’s Metamorphoses?

2:00 how to read Ovid’s Metamorphoses

3:00 who was the poet Ovid?

4:00 Augustan Age & Roman Empire

6:00 why was Ovid exiled?

7:00 Ovid’s lewd love poetry

8:00 the Roman poet’s life in exile

9:30 what is the Metamorphoses?

10:30 central work in Western tradition

12:00 Homer’s Greek to Ovid’s Latin

13:00 appreciating the epic tradition

14:00 on the anxiety of influence

16:00 Homer’s epics to Virgil’s Aeneid

17:00 from Virgil to Dante to Milton

18:30 Virgil’s influence upon Ovid

19:00 Golden Age of Roman Literature

20:00 is Ovid’s Metamorphoses an epic?

21:00 criteria for works of epic literature

22:00 structure of Ovid’s Metamorphoses

22:30 is the Metamorphoses unfinished?

23:00 metrical scheme of the Metamorphoses

24:00 importance of reading poetry aloud

25:00 the purpose of mythological stories

28:00 the transformative nature of myth

30:00 how Ovid subverts the epic tradition

31:00 the story of Perseus & Andromeda

33:00 the battle at the palace of Cepheus

34:00 Ovid’s work is high comedy

36:00 the story of Daedalus & Icarus

38:00 the tragic fatal flaw of pride

39:00 defiance of God as universal story

40:30 appreciating the opening of the work

42:00 shapes & forms from one substance

42:30 episodic or continuous narrative?

44:00 the truth of life as constant change

45:00 does reincarnation actually exist?

46:00 animal transformations in Ovid

47:00 animals teach us about human nature

49:00 the story of Arachne & Minerva

50:00 the story of Jupiter & Europa

50:30 beautiful metafictionality of Ovid

52:30 Ovid develops the Odyssean tradition

53:00 why you need to read the entire work

53:30 the story of Niobe vs Latona

55:00 mythology of the natural world

56:00 the story of Venus & Adonis

57:00 the story of Clytie & Apollo

57:30 flower myths in a world of magic

58:00 on the theme of dangerous love

59:00 Ovid’s presentation of women

1:00:00 the tragic story of Philomela

1:00:30 the story of Narcissus & Echo

1:02:30 a warning in Ovid’s visuality

1:03:30 why Ovid inspired so many artists

1:04:30 tension between beauty & suffering

1:06:00 the story of Orpheus & Eurydice

1:07:00 Ovid makes us see the world afresh

1:07:30 the history of self-talk in literature

1:09:00 two kinds of literary influences

1:09:30 the story of Pyramus & Thisbe

1:10:30 A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1:11:30 how to spot a writer’s influence

1:12:00 self-talk in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

1:12:30 the story of Jason & Medea

1:16:30 importance of the right translation

1:18:00 how to learn Latin to read Ovid

1:20:00 Arthur Golding’s translation of Ovid

1:25:00 Lombardo’s translation of Ovid

1:27:00 A. D. Melville’s translation of Ovid

1:28:00 David Raeburn’s translation of Ovid

1:30:00 Mandelbaum’s translation of Ovid

1:31:00  my advice for choosing a translation

1:32:00 should you use multiple translation?

1:33:00 pacing for Ovid’s Metamorphoses

1:33:30 book club lecture series for Ovid

1:35:00 an Ovid reading assignment for you

Resources:

• Translation: The right translation is the one that gets you into the work. So enjoy our translation taste-test in the above video and pick the one that most captures you. Some readers even like to have multiple translations of the same work on hand so they can appreciate nuances in meaning. For a super clear, comprehensible, and easy-to-read translation, go for the Lombardo. If you're a lover of Shakespeare, and wish to read one of the most beautiful works in the language, go for the Arthur Golding. If you want a balance between comprehensibility and poetic power, go for the A. D. Melville. If you want a crisp, clear, modern sound, go for the Raeburn. You also have a really lyrical and clear translation with the Mandelbaum.

• Mythology: Edith Hamilton's Mythology is a tremendous, and digestible, companion to have at your side as you make your way into the world of ancient gods, heroes, and monsters. Many of the stories recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses are in this volume with both the Greek and Roman names of the iconic personages.

• Language: There is no such thing as a dead languages when great literature remains alive. If you find yourself inspired to learn some Latin in order to appreciate Ovid in the original, then I recommend checking out the Lingua Latina textbooks. They teach you Latin through Latin. There's no English used whatsoever and it's astonishing how much you can learn in a short space of time.

• Shakespeare:  The bard is one of the most thoroughly Ovidian writers of all time. You can use both writers as a gateway into one another. There are many Shakespeare works that will be complementary to Ovid. You may wish to pick one play that intrigues you most and treat yourself to a viewing or a listen to our lectures. For historical context, you could enjoy Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. For comic animal transformation and superb metafictionality, you could put on A Midsummer Night's Dream. For themes of forbidden love, misunderstanding, and death as the consequence of tragic love, check out Romeo and Juliet. For the pinnacle of self-talk in literature, there is the sublime Hamlet. Then, of course, there is also the grotesque Titus Andronicus.

• Art Appreciation: Reading Ovid's Metamorphoses also offers us a beautiful avenue into art appreciation. Many of the greatest artists found inspiration in these mythological stories and committed their interpretation to the canvas. I'll be making reference to pieces from artists like Titian, Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Rubens during our discussions. You might find it a nice aim to come out of your reading with at least one new favourite artist. For a great illustrated guide to the artwork inspired by Ovid, you may find this book interesting: Ovid and the Metamorphoses of Modern Art from Botticelli to Picasso.

• Reading Exercise: You know I love a good ranking and grading exercise to focus our deep reading of great literature. So, for Ovid, be on the lookout for your personal top ten favourite stories from the Metamorphoses. Some of your favourites will likely change over the course of your life and with each rereading, whilst other favourites will remain the same. Your favourites will tell you a lot about yourself and what you value in life and art. It will be fascinating to compare all of our favourite stories together once we have read through the work. I'll be sharing my top stories and very much looking forward to discovering which ones resonated with you.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover books 1-5 of this epic. So start making your way into the work, meeting the mythological characters, and noting down any themes, ideas, or passages that personally resonate with you. Keep a lookout for the stories that personally resonate the most with you at this moment in time.

Questions for You:

1) What is your current relationship with Ovid's Metamorphoses? Is this your first reading or a rereading of this masterpiece?

2) What themes from your wider reading would you like to pull into the Metamorphoses?

3) What are your personal favourite mythological stories? And why do you like them specifically?

Happy reading, everybody!