Customer Reviews

The Erotic Poems (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I also give this book 5 stars but for a different reason than the first two reviewers. I do not have a grounding in ancient literature, but, I do have an interest in ancient Rome. Ovid's reputation is that of a sexual rebel in a free wheeling society. Not so on both counts. Ovid used sex and mythology to constantly ridicule Rome's conservative first emperor and his society. But, the literature itself could never convey that to this 20th Century man. Without a better backgound in ancient literature all I could get were some of the sexual references and little else. That's where Peter Green's notes (and the 5 stars) come in. Green parses every important sentence to explain both the translation from Latin and the nuance Ovid was creating. If you don't already have a good appreciation of life in first century Rome, Ovid's writings and Green's notes will explain a lot.

Classical poetry, although invaluable to anyone who appreciates literature and endeavours to further their enjoyment of it, very rarely is able to rivet the modern reader to its story in the same way that the 'contemporary' literature of a generation can. Here is a poet that has captured a timeless human experience; being sex, love, romance and scandal. At the very least he will entertain you and make you laugh, but hopefully he'll make you think too.

Ovid, the young dandy none of the most beautiful women of Rome could resist, in the Amores describes his crazy love to the etera Corinna. There is one obstacle to this love. Ovid, as a young artist, lacks money and she is encharged by a rich man for long. The young and charming Ovid, though, meets her secretly. From poem to poem, the Relationship develops. Very funny scenes are to be found, when the young lovers try to avoid the control of Corinna's sponsor, e.g. as the three of them are invited at the same party, or when Ovid discovers that Corinnas erotic skills have increased and learned things that Ovid for his part has not told her. You simply enjoy the light an witty style of the poems. As to the Art of Love, Ovid uses the genre of Didactic Poetry to write a brilliant parody of Love's euphory and melancholy. The "master of love" as he calls himself, particularly teaches us not to take love that seriously- an occasion to flirting is everywhere, and "at first you shall be convinced that every woman can be conquered." The third book is written for women- I cannot say if the advises given are good- but a girl-friend of mine confesses to hate Ovid because he has discovered so many strategies which should not be made public. Also the Art is worth reading as marvellous literature anyway- one of the most funny books about love! The shorter Cures of Love and Facial Treatment for Ladies are only short Appendices, but also nice to read. With all these works Ovid proves to be a master of the art of love as well as of poetry.

Review: Ovid's Amores
The three books of Ovid's Amores depict a mockery of the values held during the first century of the Christian era. Ovid attempts to show the world the lack of importance in the great virtues presented in many of the major epics of the time. Amores uses satire to describe the author's wooing of women to waging war. It suggests that Ovid's efforts to romance his lovers are much more essential to life than the battles that are taking place during the time period. In that, he proposes that one should live for the day. Duty and valor are all pointless in the end. These ideas were of course very unpopular with the emperor Augustus. After the writing of one of his works the emperor banished Ovid from Rome.
Ovid was a Roman elegist who expressed a carpe diem attitude during a time where duty and honor were more valuable than life itself. He was born Publius Ovidus Naso in the town of Sulmo (now called Sulmona), near Rome in the year 43 BC. He was a highly educated man, originally skilled in the art of law. However, his passion was for literature and he spent a great deal of his time writing his own works rather than studying the past. His poetry of love probably stems from his own relationships, for by the age of 30 he had married three times and was divorced twice, with rumors of affairs. He lived an extravagant life and was well-it respected by the people of Rome. This high profile Roman life lasted until approached the age of 50 when he was banished from Rome by Augustus. The reasons behind the banishment are unclear. Some say it is a result of a disapproval by Augustus of Ovid's work while others say that Ovid knew too much of a scandal that involved the emperor's daughter Julia. He was exiled to Tomi, in the Roman province of Dacia, and although he never lost his citizenship, he never returned to Rome and died in Tomi in the 17 AD.
Ovid's works can be categorized into three periods: his early works, his middle works, and the works written after his exile from Rome. His works, in contrast to popular works of the time such as Vergil's Aenied, are sharp in contrast. Although his ideas ran contrary to the beliefs of the time, Ovid was extremely popular in Rome. Amores was written in his early period, when the focus of his writings was on love. His middle works concentrate more on mythology and creationism, while his latter works, those written after his exile, have a depressing and bitter tone. He is said to have influence many English writers, including William Shakespeare and John Milton, and was one of the Roman poets with a tremendous impact on the writers of both the Middle Age and Renaissance periods.
During this time period in Rome the emperor Augustus favored and promoted the ideas of honor and duty. Those loyal to Rome were expected to embrace these values without question. Because of this writers such as Vergil gained much approval with the emperor. Their writings embraced these ideas and even portrayed them as being greater than love. Ovid's style and theme in Amores as with most of his writings favors a less dutiful attitude toward life.
Ovid's Amores also known as The Erotic Poems describes the poet's love affair with a woman named Corinna. In a series of three books Ovid depicts the phases of his relationship. He starts buy telling us how he came to write about love, and his encounter with cupid. (...)Corinna becomes the target of Ovid's love. During an afternoon he tells us of a rendezvous experienced with his new found love and spares little detail. As Ovid goes through his tale of love with Corinna he describes many experiences with her that begin to change from beginning to end. Ovid begins comparing his love affair and love in general to the efforts of war. (...) Here we see his analogy of war with love. When Carinna locks Ovid out during the writing of an epic he explains the unimportance of his work. (...)Ovid explains how his words are more effective then the strongest weapons. Poetry can open the doors of any young girl. Ovid's message is clear throughout Amores. Things such as duty and honor should not be worried about. One must live for the moment.

(...)

I am new to the works of Ovid and consider myself a beginning amateur enthusiast of Classical Roman works, not a scholar by any means.

For my purposes, I like this version for its direct, up-to-date style, not too archaic or wordy.

However, the image of Ovid as a sensual, racy guy who really loved women, clearly comes across.

The poems are not "graphic" in the modern sense; those looking for that type of literature should look elsewhere.

I do not know how close it is in shades of meaning to the original Latin or which other translations are more accurate in that regard.

I picked it up as one who was interested in finding out about Ovid and have found this to be an enjoyable introduction.

The Erotic Poems form a set of social satires and commentaries by Ovid. They are important historically, and just poetically nice. One can see in them a lot of what the Romantic-era poets were trying to recreate. Yet the poems are remarkably timeless (I wasn't sure about the translations in a couple of points, but these were minor) and speak to our age as much as Ovid's.

As a departure from my usual style, I will leave the historical importance of these works to other reviewers except to note that they are important. The translation is sufficient to give the work 5 stars.

However, one may well ask why someone who is not a historian or classicist might want to read this work. The simple reason here is that the works speak of sexual desire (and love too in some cases) in ways which are fundamentally timeless, in eloquent style, and in vivid imagery. The works thus can help us understand those elements of ourselves which remain unchanged in two thousand years and help put these elements in our lives into a greater context.

I would highly recommend this work to everyone.

I've been reading up on a lot of the classics lately and I'd recently finished the Metamorphosis translated by Mary M. Innes and was just enthralled by it. This translation just did not hold the same flow or rich vocabulary as Innes' translation. It really felt like something written for young people of our time and while to some that is probably all well and good I much preferred the grandeur of Musa's writing.

To Ovid's credit it is a good, albeit very saucy book which I think is more meant to cater to a male audience, though being a woman I couldn't say I found it completely disagreeable =P.

A very valid question is, why read The Metamorphoses when this collection is available? It's entertaining and racy enough to rivet your interest all the way through, and the translation has inimitable style. Surprisingly, it's also quite profound in it's own way. A "classic" work that's very worth your while.

Ovid was banished into exile for writing "Art of Love", which is included in this book. It's a sort of versified manual for getting girls and getting "laid" (or to put it more delicately, love-making), full of witty and wise insight. These long poems will stir up romantic feelings inside you. Very worth it. Recommended to readers of Sappho.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"

The Amores, by Publius Ovidius Naso, will leave your loins on fire and your heart as cold as ice. Coming from a time of Roman warriors and Greek gods, Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as Ovid, set the world and its many women on fire. With his mentions of charm and perfect bodies, he captures his audiences' hormones, as well as their imaginations. In The Amores, Ovid expresses sexual reminiscences of a woman named Corrina who may just as well be fictional. He tells us of her beautiful long hair and the body she possesses that is nothing short of perfect. Ovid shares with us his analysis of love as well as life.