How Are the Politics of Justice and Punishment Dealt with in Ovid's Metamorphoses - Literature review Example

The Politics of Justice and Punishment in Ovid’s Metamorphoses Annotated Bibliography Introduction Galinsky, K. 1975. Ovids Metamorphoses: An Introduction to the Basic Aspects, Los Angeles, Univ of California Pr. Galinsky uses a series of literary studies to analyse Ovid’s aims in creating Metamorphoses and the major aspects of the poetry. Metamorphoses is an interesting literary piece in that it differs substantially in style, subject matter and tone throughout. Despite the title, metamorphosis is not the primary focus of each of the stories, sometimes it is a secondary focus, other times it is merely a tangent to the main plot. How the Gods Play a Role Solodow, J. B. 2002. The World of Ovids Metamorphoses, Univ of North Carolina Pr. Throughout the stories told in Metamorphoses, one key element is that the gods play a direct role in the lives of the characters, often in causing punishment for misdeeds or effecting justice. This can be seen in the story of Venus and the daughters of Propoetus, told in book ten of Metamorphoses, where the goddess Venus becomes angry with the young women and forces them to become prostitutes as a method of punishment. Wheeler, S. M. 1999. A Discourse of Wonders: Audience and Performance in Ovids Metamorphoses, Univ of Pennsylvania Pr. Like Homer’s Odyssey, Metamorphoses begins with the idea that the suffering which mankind continually experiences is a result of the wicked nature of men, rather than anything the gods have done. This sets the scene for the many examples of punisment and justice that are seen throughout the poem. Castellani, V. 2009. Venus Transformed: Ovidss Metamorphoses. Zbornik Matice srpske za klasične studije, 7-25. Throughout Metamophoses, Ovid does not portray his characters in the way which they are traditionally viewed. Ovid portrays Venus, the goddess of love, as more compassionate than other views of her, as well as answering the praysers of subjects, and exacting justice on those who anger her. Hejduk, J. D. 2009. Ovid and Religion. A companion to Ovid, 45-58. Asa writer, Ovid continually examined religion, what relationship humans had with the divine and the nature of evil. Many scholars do not associate Ovid with religion because many of his pieces, including Metamorphoses, are based on humor and on being different than the expected written construction. Kelly, M. H. & Keil, F. C. 1985. The More Things Change…: Metamorphoses and Conceptual Structure. Cognitive Science, 9, 403-416. Mythology plays a large role in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Most of the stories that he tells in the course of the poem are variations of Greek or Roman mythology, and he tells of the changing of men and women into many different forms, including trees, animals, constellations and echos. This is more than simply a type of story telling, instead tries to fulfull a social obligation, to promote a certain idea or teach a particular lesson. The Era in Which Metamorphoses was Written Riley, H. T. 1899. The Metamorphoses of Ovid, D. McKay. Ovid was born around 90 miles from Rome around 43 B.C and spent much time in Rome where he was educated. In the year 8 A.D. Ovid gained the displeasure of the emperor Augustus and was forced into exile, which he remained in until his death ten years lae of ter. Anderson, W. S. 1997. Ovids Metamorphoses, University of Oklahoma press. Ovid’s birth came a year after Julius Ceasar was murdered, and throughout his lifetime he experienced Rome in a time of peace and restoration. He had completed the entire 15 books of Metamorphoses before he was exiled from rome in 8 A.D. Williams, G. D. 2009. The Metamorphoses: Politics and Narrative. A companion to Ovid, 154-169. Throughout Ovid’s writing career, Augustus was the emperor of Rome. Augustus is important within Metamorphoses, havinga named role in the first and last book, as well as being a fixture of Roman life that is present throughout Ovid’s writing, in the form of an influence that is important in all aspects of live. This is exemplfied by many of Ovid’s all-powerful gods, especially Jupitier. Keith, A. M. 1992. The Play of Fictions: Studies in Ovids Metamorphoses, Book 2, Univ of Micigan Press. Metamorphoses was ‘published’ in 8 A.D., the same year in which Ovid was exciled. Ovid wrote of the poem being nearly complete, and believed that it would receive a strongly positive reception. However, no further work was done on the poem, and the form that was ciculated in public in 8 A.D. is the one which we know today. One interpretation of the focus that Ovid places on metamorphisis is that he is trying to teach a lesson. Many of the stories are based on myth, yet often tell only the part of the story that is directly related to the metamorphosis, giving the story a incomplete feel. Galinsky, K. 1975. Ovids Metamorphoses: An Introduction to the Basic Aspects, Los Angeles, Univ of California Pr. The primary subject matter of Metamorphoses is myth and all of the stories have some element of mythology. During the era in which Ovid was writing Metamorphoses Graeco-Roman mythology was prominent although myth in general was beginning to lose much of its impact and influence on the everyday lives of the people. Because of this, Ovid had to employ a narrative tone throughout his work for it to remain of interest to his readers. Due, O. S. 1974. Changing Forms: Studies in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, Museum Tusculanum Press. One piece of material that was produced in the same era as Metamorphoses is the Aneid. This probably served as both inspiration and a model for Ovid, although his own work was of a less epic, more comedic form. The Aeneid tells of the history of the Romans from the point of view that their past was heavily influenced by concepts of justice by the gods. McKinley, K. L. 2001. Reading the Ovidian Heroine:" Metamorphoses" Commentaries 1100-1618, Brill Academic Pub. Ovid was not alone in having an interest in violence, revenge and jusice. Indeed, this was a factor that was prevalent throughout the Alexandrian school of poetry. Indeed, Ovids work shows less interest in abnormal punishment than his contempories and he is often more sympathetic to the characters than versions of the same myths by other authors. Voice of the Poet Solodow, J. B. 2002. The World of Ovids Metamorphoses, The University of North Carolina Press. Ovid is not distinct from his work, rather, as the narrator he takes the part of being a story teller and in the process is able to inject himself into his stories. Through this, Ovid is able express a level of skepticism towards his own tales. Tissol, G. 1997. The Face of Nature: Wit, Narrative, and Cosmic Origins in Ovids Metamorphoses, Princeton Univ Pr. While stories of justice through tramsformation are common throughout Metamorphoses, the author directly questiorons whether the punishments are always necessary. In the story concerning the Sirens Ovid asks what had they done to deserve such punishment, the creatures were companions of Prosperpina who had done nothing wrong beyond being present at the wrong time and place (p 207). Johnson, P. J. 2008. Ovid before Exile: Art and Punishment in the Metamorphoses, Univ of Wisconsin Pr. The style and narrative structures that Ovid employes in his creation of Metamorphoses are both similar and distinct to his contempories. While other authods such as Gallus and Tibullus produced refined pieces, Ovid combines a number of different styles and generes to produce Metamorphoses. Anderson, W. S. 1989. Lycaon: Ovids Deceptive Paradigm in Metamorphoses I. Scholars debate on how to read and interpret Metamorphoses. The poem may constitute a single narrative, with intentional structure and order, where the earlier parts providing an indication of what would occur later in the poem. One example of this is the first metamorphsis story that is told, that of Lycaon. It has been suggested that Ovid intentionally introduced this story as a paradigm in order to create readers expectations, and then subsequently change, redine and reshape the form in which he uses throughout Metamorphoses. Ovid’s work is not the epic poem that one expects on first starting to read, instead he continuallybuilds expectations in the reader, breaks these down then builds more. Nagle, B. R. 1983. Byblis and Myrrha: Two Incest Narratives in the" Metamorphoses". The Classical Journal, 78, 301-315. One important aspect of Metamorphoses is the changing narrative style that the author uses. This allows him to show readers his own viewpoint on the events that are occurring, and whather he views them as being just or unjust. Some of the stories that are told in Metamorphoses are told directly by Ovid, with him acting as a narrator. On other occasions, Ovid uses one of his own fictional characters to narrate the story. His choice of narrator, as well as the sympathy or lack thereof that he shows towards the characters allows him to control how his audience perceives the events that he speaks of. Riddehough, G. 1959. Man-into-Beast Changes in Ovid. Phoenix, 13, 201-209. Throughout Metamorphoses, people are transformed as a means of punishment by the gods. However, the person that is being transformed still retains their human emotions and tendencies. This can be considered a Roman sense of justice. Any tendencies that the transformed man contained, such as anger, bitterness, gentleness or fear, transfer from the human form to the animal. Wheeler, S. M. 2000. Narrative Dynamics in Ovids Metamorphoses, Gunter Narr Verlag. One commonly debated aspect of Metamorphoses is what the poem as a whole means, and what the author was trying to accomplish. Unlike other poems of the era, there is no single narrative, rather the poem appears to be a collection of distinct stories. Most of the metamorphosis stories focus on the same basic idea, that of a human who has commited some crime (which varies from being major to minor) and an avenging god who punishes the mortal by transforming them. Fantham, E. 2004. Ovids Metamorphoses, Oxford University Press, USA. One interesting aspect of Ovid’s Metamorphoses is the narrative structure. He does not seperatate himself from the stories that he is telling, rather his voice is promient throughout the epic poem, offering opinions and sympathy towards the plight of many of the characters. On first reading, the poem appears to be an epic tale, beginning early in history and proceeding to Ovid’s own time, and the near future. The grand and elegant nature of the opening verses is short-lived, and it appears that Ovid wrote these specifically for this purpose. There is no clear narrative tieing the different aspects of Ovid’s poem together and no single character to follow through.  Read More