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Transformations in the ovid’s metamorphoses
Themes in the metamorphosis
Themes in the metamorphosis
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Transformations can exist in various forms; it is emotional, physical, or even spiritual, in either a partial or complete manner. In some cases, these partial transformations are personal qualities that may appear as deviant quality to the societal norm. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Ovid utilizes myths to construct a realm where he depicts an overarching theme of transformation through humans and nature.
In Book I, Ovid creates a theme of transformation that is told as a myth of Apollo and Daphne. The myth is led by the head of the romance department, Venus, who is closely followed by her troublesome son, Cupid. The Olympian god Apollo shows off to Cupid of his seemingly large achievement of the defeating of the python. Cupid sizes Apollo up by
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When meeting Daphne, as expected, Apollo is consumed and in the midst of love enchanted by Cupid’s arrow. Before undergoing this transformation, Apollo would not have the obsession that he has now for Daphne. Quite frankly, Apollo would probably not have even cared about her because he did not know her prior to them both being shot by Cupid’s mischievous arrows. Ovid utilizes Apollo’s intense desire to love Daphne as the chase of romance. He compares this love to that of the flame in a brush because the transformation Apollo goes through is unexpectedly quick. The imagery of a flame, “Phoebus is changed then into flames. / That’s how his whole chest burns, and by hoping, / he feeds a love that is in vain” (723-725), scattering through the brush depicts a powerful reaction, mainly through Cupid’s love arrows. Apollo is flame is fueled by a hope to overcome the pointlessness of his desire to love her. He now recognizes that Daphne is beautiful in every aspect. Disappointed by only being able to see Daphne, Apollo yearned for more. His actions become more like a cat and mouse chase. When Apollo decides to crank up the heat in the chase, Daphne’s motivation to run from him simultaneously grows. Ovid conveys Daphne’s passion to remain unwanted, which allows her to stay narrowly out of Apollo’s
The mood immediately changes and we discover that Hermia rather than being filled with filial love is determined to marry Lysander rather than her father’s choice for her. And so the love theme is made more complex as we have the wrathful love of her father confronted by the love of her daughter for the man who is not her fathers’ choice. The love theme is further complicated by the arrival of Helena. Here we see the platonic love of two friends.
Heath, J. (1991). Diana's understanding of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Th classical Journal , 186 (3), 223-243.
that Watts is trying to get across to us, is that even though he is an
Love, lust and infatuation all beguile the senses of the characters in this dreamy and whimsical work of Shakespeare, and leads them to act in outlandish ways, which throughly amuses the reader. True love does prevail in the end for Hermia and Lysander, and the initial charm of infatuation ends up proving to have happy consequence for Helena and Demetrius as well. Even when at first the reader thinks that, in theory, the effects the potion will wear off and Lysander will once again reject Helena, Oberon places a blessings on all the couples that they should live happily ever after.
The world has changed in so many ways. There are always going to be times when families go through hard times. In the past, there were some very awkward family situations that wouldn’t occur to families in today’s society. Throughout history, there were stories that were written that described the politics of forbidden love. There were consequences that came along with certain behaviors that went on. The consequences that occurred in some of the stories may not be what one would expect. There are three stories that are great examples of the politics of forbidden love. These stories are known as, the story of Iphis and Isis, Pygmalion, and Ceres and Proserpina. They show the importance of trust and honesty.
Infatuation causes Helena to lose all sense of dignity, as can be seen when in the woods, she desperately pleads with Demetrius to ?but treat me as your spaniel?. Here, Helena also becomes irrational, obsessed with pursuing Demetrius, though it is obvious that Demetrius is fixated on winning Hermia?s hand in marriage. Helena?s infatuation also causes her to see things from a skewed perspective, for she falsely believes that when she divulges Hermia?s plans for eloping with Lysander, Demetrius? love for Helena will rekindle. As the audience, we know that the most probable course of action for Demetrius upon hearing such news is to pursue Lysander and Hermia, or to report them to Theseus or Egeus. Clearly, infatuation has clouded Helena?s ability to think clearly, and she sees things in her own idealistic way.
There were two major rape narratives in the Metamorphoses: one in Book I, when Jupiter rapes the nymph, Io; and one in Book II, when Jupiter rapes Diana’s follower, Callisto. After the first instance, Ovid sympathizes considerably with Io. First, he addresses her with the title “fleeing girl” (Ovid 9), which gives her the characterization of being innocent and unwilling towards Jupiter. In addition, after the rape, Io is turned into a heifer then taken away from her home to be kept in captivity by Argus, which makes the readers sympathize with her because she is being held against her will for being the victim of rape. Lastly, Ovid conveys sympathy for Io when she looks into a river and sees that she is a heifer and becomes “terrified of herself”
The main character, Ovid, is a vivid example of how lives can be periodically changed according to alterations in the surrounding environment. At the start of the book Ovid is a stranger to his setting, stranded in a culture that deprives him of his language, his customs, and his pride. This shows that identity is primarily constructed according to the society in which people are placed, and much social learning and norms are derived from conformity to the conditions of a particular environment. In An Imaginary Life, Ovid completes a journey of self discovery, learning how to create and cultivate an existence based on interrelationship with the natural world, entering a into partly idealistic and imaginary existence, hence the title.
Ultimately, with the grim ending of Plato’s account of the Greek myth, it can be said that Plato’s version is hopeless and depressing in comparison with Ovid’s more positive
Hibberd, John. “The Metamorphosis: Overview.” Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995.
‘’Ovid Metamorphosis’’ was to be called ‘’transformation’’, in this poem, there was plenty of transformation that was being used throughout this entire poem, but I will be talking about change even though transformation refer to change and the shape of the character in the poem. Basically, everything was in the process of being changed in Metamorphosis, especially love. Love was often explained as the unbelievable charge that guided transformation in Ovid’s poem. Ovid’s view of love was very different than how people view love in this world today, love to Ovid was dangerous and he proved that love has control over each and every one of us. The different changes in Ovid Metamorphosis dealt with the gods, love, animals, plants and how they were
Many of the greatest poems, ballads, songs, stories, and epics share a common theme, love. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, that theme is found many times, but underlying that theme is the theme of unrequited love. For Ovid, anyone can be affected by it and in some cases, the other person does come to love the other in return, but the most common ending to the story is that it remains only the one in love while the other remains out. Ovid gives his readers several examples of unrequited love.
Ovid wrote his poem, The Metamorphoses, in order to contrast Virgil’s epic, The Aeneid. Virgil was enlisted by Augustus to write an epic about Rome and make the Roman rule seem great, however, Ovid aimed to satirize this epic and relate his poems and their characters to powerful people from that time period, specifically Emperor Augustus. In The Metamorphoses, Ovid rewrote commonly known Roman myths and offered a more realistic perspective on the stories. Ovid’s repeated portrayal of rape in these stories is unsurprising in context of the political and social turmoil taking place in that time period, specifically, Ovid was protesting the new Augustan rules which regulated the previously lax sexual laws, and instead promoted fidelity and monogamy.
A “Critical Essay on ‘The Metamorphosis’.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol.
Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The popularity and timelessness of this work stems from the manner of story telling. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. The thread of humor that runs through Metamorphoses is consistent with the satire and commentary of the work. The theme is presented in the opening lines of Metamorphoses, where the poet invokes the gods, who are responsible for the changes, to look favorably on his efforts to compose. The changes are of many kinds: from human to animal, animal to human, thing to human, human to thing. Some changes are reversed: human to animal to human. Sometimes the transformations are partial, and physical features and personal qualities of the earlier being are preserved in mutated form.