Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Ovid (Author), A. D. Melville (Translator), E. J. Kenney (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: April 15, 2009

Metamorphoses--the best-known poem by one of the wittiest poets of classical antiquity--takes as its theme change and transformation, as illustrated by Greco-Roman myth and legend. Melville's new translation reproduces the grace and fluency of Ovid's style, and its modern idiom offers a fresh understanding of Ovid's unique and elusive vision of reality.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This translation will quickly establish itself as _the_ transation for English speaking readers and students of this great Augustan epic.' Dr A.H.F. Griffin, University of Exeter

'a work of the highest quality which provides pleasure and information in generous measure.' JACT Review

About the Author

Publius Ovidius Naso, a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations. Ranked alongside Virgil and Horace as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature, Ovid was generally considered the greatest master of the elegiac couplet.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Reissue edition (April 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199537372
• ISBN-13: 978-0199537372
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars God awful in comparison to so many others!, May 19, 2009

By 

Ryan Kouroukis "In 1882 Richard Wagner said: ... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This is perhaps the worst translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses I've ever read!

Melville renders it into Verse, but all the sentences are jumbled and don't make sense, as well, he adds a weird type of archaic-ness throughout. It doen't make for easy reading or enjoyable reading either.
I'd rather read Arthus Golding's translation to be quite honest!

I think the best version on the market in Verse is Allen Mandelbaum's, and the best Prose translation being the incredible version by Mary Innes

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not formatted for Kindle, July 31, 2009

By 

William Ray (suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics) (Kindle Edition)

I had already had a trying day and was looking forward to sitting and reading Ovid on my Kindle. I took quite a bit of time to decide that this Melville translation was the one I wanted. So it came as an unpleasant surprise that this edition is not properly formatted for the Kindle. No matter how you adjust the font size, you will not be able to get the line breaks to occur as Melville intended them to. If you use larger type, it simply looks like a prose translation. In a smaller font, the line breaks are generally in the wrong place. In short, don't waste your seven bucks as I have, if proper poetic form -- rhythm -- matters to you.

Through no fault of Ovid or Melville this Kindle book is not much use. And, by the way, as others have noted in several places, Amazon needs to grasp that a review of a translated work has to be listed so that it is translation specific, rather than the chaotic hodgepodge that currently exists.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ovid Metamorphoses, November 29, 2010

By 

Monica M Jackson - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This is an excellent translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses.There is also a Glossary and Index of Names which is very useful.