19th Annual Student Research Conference
Language & Literature
Altered Fulfillment: Ovid’s Treatment of the Familiar in Myth
Jacqueline A. Jones
Dr. Bridget Thomas and Dr. Clifton Kreps, Faculty Mentors
When Ovid wrote his Metamorphoses, he was one poet following in the footsteps of many; he faced the challenge of making his work stand out among countless other tellings of the same myths. So, Ovid made his epic into something completely unpredictable and untraditional, retelling familiar myths, but with his own unique twists. The “Transformation of Ino” episode is one such myth, and although it is now a little-examined section of the Metamorphoses, it provides an excellent example of Ovid’s skill in subtly manipulating familiar story elements to fashion a novel and entertaining experience for his readers by defying expected conventions. Ovid used traditional mythic devices, imagery, meter, and allusion to create an altered fulfillment of his reader’s expectations. By doing so, he granted his reader the opportunity to view traditional stories in a new light, and to experience the different emotions he evoked with his unique storytelling.
Keywords: Ovid, Metamorphoses, retelling myth, imagery, allusion
Topic(s):Classics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 21-4
Location: VH 1304
Time: 10:30