Background to The Metamorphoses

As I said yesterday, Ovid wrote this wonderful piece of literature in approximately 8 CE.  Today, I'm going to talk about the context of the poem and give some (fun!) background to it.

The poem is comprised of 15 books and has over 250 myths.  It starts with the creation of the universe and ends with the death of Julius Caesar.  The Metamorphoses has inspired authors such as Chaucer, Dante, Milton, and Shakespeare.  It is full of literary allusions that have impacted Western literature.   Unlike Virgil, Ovid seemed to have written for the pleasure of the art, not to describe and prescribe the Romans. 

All of Ovid's tales deal with a transformation, but there is not necessarily one, pinpointed hero.  This transformation binds the tale together.  Ovid thinks of metamorphosis as natural, a part of life.  Troy falls and Rome rises.  Nothing is permanent.  As mentioned before, chronology is of no real importance to the work, especially the middle books.  Ovid starts with the creation tale along with a flood and ends with the death of Julius Caesar, but when concerned with the middle books, chronology has no value.  Ovid liked to keep readers on their toes.  He will follow certain heroes through multiple texts, like Hercules.  There are multiple frame narratives in the text, which influenced other writers down the line (think about literary classics like Frankenstein; all of it was a frame narrative). 

Although not a typical chronology of events, Ovid did follow a type of format.  Books I-II pertain to Gods in love.  Books III-VI deal with avenging Gods.  Pathos of love is discussed in Books VII-XI.  Finally, Books XII-XV are about the history of Rome and the fall of Julius Caesar.  With this outline, we see a movement of gods acting like humans, humans suffering at the hands of gods, humans suffering at the hands of other humans, and humans becoming like gods. 

Needless to say, Ovid's text has given Western audiences a platform to write great pieces of literature.  This sounds like a great week, doesn't it?  Be ready for Books I-III to come at you tomorrow!

Cassy