The Love Poems (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

by Ovid (Author), A. D. Melville (Translator), E. J. Kenney (Introduction) "I'd meant in solemn metre to rehearse..." (more)
Key Phrases: unbolt the door

Editorial Reviews

Review
'Melville has worked a miracle. It is difficult to imagine that there will ever be an English version so faithful to the Latin, and written in such sound and engaging verse.' The Times.

'Melville has worked a miracle ... It is difficult to imagine that there will ever be an English version so faithful to the Latin, and written in such sound and engaging verse.' David West, The Times

'a new, faithful yet engaging translation ... Ovid was a brilliant, innovative, elegant, witty and ironic poet, who has entertained readers for thousands of years and this new version will give pleasure to many more.' Day by Day

A

Product Description
Ovid saw love as a game that both sexes could play without getting hurt, as long as they followed the rules. Though frankly erotic, by no means innocent, and often offensive, Ovid's love poems were meant to entertain, and this edition does much to reproduce their sparkling wit and unfailing elegance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192836331
• ISBN-13: 978-0192836335
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,206,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Look elsewhere, February 1, 2009

By	Andrew Spencer "Panoptes" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Love Poems (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Melville's translation fails for one specific reason: the Latin text is not translated faithfully, and he sacrifices an accurate representation for producing rhyming English verse. I should remind potential readers that Latin poets did not produce rhyming poetry, and the tendency for English-speaking scholars to do this is a rather out-dated, 19th century (and earlier) practice. Look to Peter Green's Penguin translation, which is a much better translation of these excellent poems.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Poetry, Prudish Editor, November 13, 2007

By	Mary - See all my reviews

The poetry here is racy, beautiful, funny, and provocative. The translations are well done (who am I to judge?), preserving the original intent and meaning, but the notes tend a little on the prudish side. While the notes are invaluable for a serious student (me), and especially since some translations of Ovid's Amores have no notes, this editor leaves out some pertinent information about Caesar Augustus, and family, who ruled at the time of publication, and whom Ovid addresses occasionally in his works. Also, the translator admittedly prefers the Metamorphoses, seemingly because it is gentler and more mature, so I am left wondering whether this colored his translation of the Amores--it's racy, but is it as racy as the original?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ovid everyday, October 31, 2008

By	Ignacio Nava "IN THIN ARRAY" (california) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Love Poems (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) (Wordsworth World Literature) (Paperback)

I see it as this: everyone should have some writers or books to constantly go back to, and re-read as time goes on, this Dryden translation of Ovid is such a masterpiece that I go back to it as much as I can.