Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Ovid (Author), David Raeburn (Translator), Denis Feeney (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: August 3, 2004

Ovid's deliciously witty and exuberant epic starts with the creation of the world and brings together a series of ingeniously linked Greek and Roman myths and legends in which men and women are transformed, often by love - into flowers, trees, stones and stars. This new verse translation, in simple and swift English hexameters, allows Ovid's narrative to flow - pulling the reader along with it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DAVID RAEBURN is a lecturer in Classics at Oxford. He has translated Sophocles & directed numerous school/ university productions of Greek tragedies. DENIS FEENEY is Professor of Classics at Princeton. RICHARD ASHDOWNE is in the Department of Comparative Philology, Linguisits and Phonetics, Oxford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014044789X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140447897
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry
  • #61 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent edition and translation, January 9, 2006

By 

Sara (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

After reading the old Penguin edition of this work, I was amazed at the improvement in not only the translation, but the organization and supplemental material as well. The old edition I read was written in prose (yuck), the translation was was dry and boring, the text was not broken up into sections, and there were no notes to speak of. This edition, however, has really come a long way. The text has been translated into a more modern voice, making it much more user friendly and fun to read. And it's written in verse form (as is should be). The organization is top-notch: not only is it divided into "books", but is further divided into the individual stories with appropriate headings (like "Mars and Venus" and "Pyramus and Thisbe"), so it's easy to find your favorite myth and know where you are in the epic. There's also an excellent introduction to the entire work as well as introductions to each individual book, providing insights and background information. The notes in the back of the book are very comprehensive and helpful, adding greatly to your understanding of the work. On top of all that, there's a glossary of the characters in the back which not only tells you who they are, but where they are featured in the epic. And finally, as if there wasn't enough already, there's even a map in the back of Rome during Ovid's time. Needless to say, this edition is chock full of stuff to please both casual readers of the work and scholars looking to get a little more in-depth. I believe this is one of the most important and influential works of Western civilization, and everyone should have a copy. It's especially great for those who love Greek and Roman myths, since it's packed full of just about every classical myth ever conceived. And since it's broken down so nicely into individual stories and books, you can read a story here and there instead of the whole thing at once, if you choose. Though since all the stories are connected and flow seamlessly into one another, reading it through from beginning to end is very rewarding and highly recommended.

60 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hobbled by bad book design, May 14, 2007

By 

L. N. Hammer (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

It's not like designers at Penguin Classics are lacking
the knowledge
Of how to handle hexameters. Why then their failure
to use it
In Raeburn's recent translation of Metamorphoses?
On an average page, there's barely three verses that's
typeset within
A single line, with all others continued with vast
indent--
And most roving over a single word. The pages are
ugly,
Everything awkward to read. The font size is generous,
though,
So why not reduce it a point and gather more verses
together?
Nor does it help that the poem is written in thumping
sub-Longfellow,
With all of the beats but now with just one third the
sonority--
Dietetically versed. Avoid this volume. Feh, and more
feh.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am a changed man after reading Ovid, April 11, 2008

By 

Wordsworth (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Metamorphoses (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I confess that reading Ovid's Metamorphoses has left me a changed man. His focus on transformation parables of ancient myths taught me quite a bit about change. I was intrigued by how often unwanted change was unwillingly created by life-denying action that angers one of the gods. All the great figures of ancient times are here: Daedalus, Achilles, Paris, Perseus, Hector, Pygmalion, Midas, Helen and Aeneas to name but a few. The origins of common fables must have had their ancient roots in Ovid. So much of art, especially painting, music and literature, owes its transformation from the tales articulated with wit and charm by Ovid. This is an important window into ancient times and the stories must have been intriguing to hear in engaging oratory. This is genuinely a great work of literature and the pages really fly by rapidly. These tales of Ovid on change helped me understand better the constant role of change in my own personal transformation. And, thus, the tales of Ovid transformed me in the reading and in the writing transformed Ovid into immortality.