Metamorphoses: A New Translation

· W. W. Norton & Company
4.2
6 reviews
Ebook
624
Pages
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About this ebook

"A version that has been long awaited, and likely to become the new standard." —Michael Dirda, Washington Post

Ovid's epic poem—whose theme of change has resonated throughout the ages—is one of the most important texts of Western imagination, an inspiration from Dante's times to the present day, when writers such as Salman Rushdie and Italo Calvino have found a living source in Ovid's work. Charles Martin combines a close fidelity to Ovid's text with verse that catches the speed and liveliness of the original. Martin's Metamorphoses will be the translation of choice for contemporary readers in English. This volume also includes endnotes and a glossary of people, places, and personifications.

Ratings and reviews

4.2
6 reviews
A Google user
July 23, 2010
The diction and idioms of the ancient poets is difficult to become accustomed to at first (atleast for me), it wasn't until about the 100th page that I could read it lucidly. After that it was euphonic for me to read. A wonderful book and a beautiful translation. The translator's choice of words was excellent (it improved my vocabulary!) and his notes at the end of the translation were of great use. I was sure to read this book with Bulfinch's Mythology at my side for some of the arcane references.
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About the author

Charles Martin was born in New York City in 1942. He earned a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo. The recipient of numerous awards, Martin has received the Bess Hokin Prize, the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ingram Merrill Foundation. Three of his poetry collections—Steal the Bacon (1987), What the Darkness Proposes (1996), and Starting from Sleep: New and Selected Poems (2002)—have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. His translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses won the 2004 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

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