Ovid: Metamorphosis

by Ovid & Innes, Mary

ISBN: 9780140440584

Published: 1955-10-30

Mary Innes's classic prose translation of one of the supreme masterpieces of Latin literature "The most beautiful book in the language (my opinion and I suspect it was Shakespeare's)." -Ezra Pound Ovid drew on Greek mythology, Latin folklore and legend from ever further afield to create a series of narrative poems, ingeniously linked by the common theme of transformation. Here a chaotic universe is subdued into harmonious order: animals turn to stone; men and women become trees and stars. Ovid himself transformed the art of storytelling, infusing these stories with new life through his subtley, humour and understanding of human nature, and elegantly tailoring tone and pace to fit a variety of subjects. The result is a lasting treasure-house of myth and legend. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout...