Binding: Paperback
Description: " Vivam" is the very last word of Ovid's masterpiece the Metamorphoses: " I shall live." If we're still reading it two millennia after Ovid's death this is by definition a remarkably accurate prophecy. Ovid was not the only ancient author with aspirations to be read for eternity but no poet of the Greco - Roman world has had a deeper or more lasting impact on subsequent literature and art than he can claim. In the present day no Greek or Roman poet is as accessible to artists writers or the general reader: Ovid's voice remains a compellingly contemporary one as modern as it seemed to his contemporaries in Augustan Rome. But Ovid was also a man of his time his own story fatally entwined with that of the first emperor Augustus and the poetry he wrote channels in its own way the cultural and political upheavals of the contemporary city its public life sexual mores religion and urban landscape while also exploiting the superbly rich store of poetic convention that Greek literature and his Roman predecessors had bequeathed to him. This Very Short Introduction explains Ovid's background social and literary and introduces his poetry on love metamorphosis Roman festivals and his own exile a restlessly innovative oeuvre driven by the irrepressible ingenium or wit for which he was famous. Llewelyn Morgan also explores Ovid's immense influence on later literature and art spanning from Shakespeare to Bernini. Throughout Ovid's poetry is revealed as enduringly scintillating his personal story compelling and the issues his life and poetry raise of continuing relevance and interest. About THE Series: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket - sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Title: Ovid: A Very Short Introduction
Author(s): Morgan Llewelyn (Professor Of Classical Literature University Of Oxford)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Barcode: 9780198837688
Pages: 144 Pages, 10 Black And White Images
Publication Date: 12/1/2020
Series: Very Short Introductions
Category: Literary Studies: Classical, Early & Medieval