Metamorphoses (Hackett Classics)

Ovid's Metamorphoses gains its ideal twenty-first-century herald in Stanley Lombardo's bracing translation of a wellspring of Western art and literature that is too often treated, even by poets, as a mere vehicle for the scores of myths it recasts and transmits rather than as a unified work of art with epic-scale ambitions of its own. Such misconceptions are unlikely to survive a reading of Lombardo's rendering, which vividly mirrors the brutality, sadness, comedy, irony, tenderness, and eeriness of Ovid's vast world as well as the poem's effortless pacing. Under Lombardo's spell, neither Argus nor anyone else need fear nodding off. The translation is accompanied by an exhilarating Introduction by W. R. Johnson that unweaves and reweaves many of the poem's most important themes while showing how the poet achieves some of his most brilliant effects. An analytical table of contents, a catalog of transformations, and a glossary are also included. The Metamorphoses is a narrative poem penned by the Roman poet Ovid. Widely considered to be his ultimate work, comprising fifteen books and over 250 myths. The poem portrays a history of the world from creation up to the deification of Julius Caesar. Metamorphoses is viewed as one of the most influential works in Western culture, inspiring authors such as Dante, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Boccaccio. It has also inspired countless works of art from various artists throughout the centuries. This New Translation Reproduces In Modern Idiom The Graceful, Fluent Style Of One Of The Great Poets Of Classical Antiquity. Introduction -- Translator's Note -- Note On The Text -- Suggestions For Further Reading -- Metamorphoses -- Catalog Of Transformations -- Glossary Of Names. Ovid ; Translated By Stanley Lombardo ; Introduction By W.r. Johnson. Translated From The Latin. Includes Bibliographical References.

In his award-winning translation, Charles Martin combines fidelity to Ovid’s text with verse that catches the speed and liveliness of the original.