Metamorphoses: A New Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)

Ovid

Softcover

ISBN 10: 014044789X ISBN 13: 9780140447897

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2004

'Still remarkably vivid. It is easier to read this for pure pleasure than just about any other ancient text' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian

Ovid's sensuous and witty poem begins with the creation of the world and brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales, ingeniously linked by the idea of transformation - often as a result of love or lust - where men and women find themselves magically changed into extraordinary new beings. Including the well-known stories of Daedalus and Icarus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Pygmalion, Perseus and Andromeda, and the fall of Troy, the Metamorphoses has influenced writers and artists from Shakespeare and Chaucer to Picasso and Ted Hughes. This translation by David Raeburn is in hexameter verse, which brilliantly captures the energy and spontaneity of the original.

Translated by DAVID RAEBURN with an Introduction by DENIS FEENEY

Review:

A good translation in clear, dignified, poetic English (Prof Elaine Fantham, Princeton)

I think this version is terrific. The light enjambed English hexameters are a great success. The effect is properly propulsive (Prof A D Nuttall, Oxford)

From the Back Cover:

Ovid's sensuous and witty poetry brings together a dazzling array of mythological tales, ingeniously linked by the idea of transformation - often as a result of love or lust - where 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 yet playful, the Metamorphoses has influenced writers and artists throughout the centuries from Shakespeare and Titian to Picasso and Ted Hughes.

This lively, accessible new translation by David Raeburn is in hexameter verse, which brilliantly captures the energy and spontaneity of the original. The edition contains an introduction discussing the life and work of Ovid as well as a preface to each book, explanatory notes and an index of people, gods and places.