Poetry
Metamorphoses
Synopsis
A poem in fifteen books that recounts, from the original chaos to the age of Augustus and the deification of Julius Caesar, some two hundred and fifty metamorphoses: gods, heroes and mortals changed into animals, plants, springs or stars. The stories follow one from another; among them are those of Daphne, Hyacinthus, and Pyramus and Thisbe.
Context
The poem is written in dactylic hexameters, the metre of epic, and runs to nearly twelve thousand lines. It was complete when its author's exile came. It inspired Dante, Chaucer and Shakespeare, and was translated into English as early as 1480 by William Caxton, then in 1567 by Arthur Golding. In France, the Collection des universités de France has published Georges Lafaye's bilingual edition since 1925, and Olivier Sers translated it into alexandrines in 2009.
Who it is for
A long poem in fifteen books, read in episodes: each metamorphosis forms an almost self-contained tale.
Prizes and reception
A major source of mythology for Western literature and art, it nourished the painters and sculptors of the Renaissance.
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