OSHER 155 - Ovid's Metamorphoses: Transformation & Desire

Endless change and transformation is the theme of Metamorphoses, by the Roman poet Ovid. First published in 8 AD, the poem's 12,000 lines of verse retell and interweave some 250 Greek myths. Few epic poems have had a greater impact on the Western literary imagination. Dante, Chaucer, and Shakespeare all mined the Metamorphoses for stories and allusions. If you have ever wanted to plunge into Greek mythology, there is no more artistic, profound, or enjoyable source than Ovid. The verse translation by the American poet Charles Martin, which won the 2004 Harold Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets, is recommended.