Metamorphoses: The New, Annotated Edition [Paperback]

OvidsMetamorphosesis one of the most influential works of Western literature, inspiring artists and writers from Titian to Shakespeare to Salman Rushdie. These are some of the most famous Roman myths as youve never read them beforesensuous, dangerously witty, audaciousfrom the fall of Troy to birth of the minotaur, and many others that only appear in theMetamorphoses. Connected together by the immutable laws of change and metamorphosis, the myths tell the story of the world from its creation up to the transformation of Julius Caesar from man into god.

In the ten-beat, unrhymed lines of this now-legendary and widely praised translation, Rolfe Humphries captures the spirit of Ovids swift and conversational language, bringing the wit and sophistication of the Roman poet to modern readers.

This special annotated edition includes new, comprehensive commentary and notes by Joseph D. Reed, Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Brown University.

1. Translator Rolfe Humphries was the first modern poet to translate Metamorphoses. Consequently, his translation has been recognized for capturing the poetic rhythm and spirit of the original. In online discussions of the various translations, he often surfaces as the most readable.
2. Joseph D. Reed's annotation is the exhaustively complete and represents the latest state-of-the-art scholarship on Ovid. It's been nearly a decade since the last annotated edition. He nicely provides background on the myths and probes the origins of many phrases, showing how Humphries rendered original passages in certain ways to achieve poetic effect.

Reed's annotated edition of Ovid's realistic, moving, and influential classic can now easily be adopted for classroom use, and it will also serve the curious who wish to know more about this unparalleled, captivating array of Roman mythology. . . . Highly recommended.

It is very much alive, fresh, racy, and above all, vivid. . . .Humphries rlS