Metamorphoses

The Metamorphoses is a product of early imperial Rome. What role does empire or the emperor play in the poem?

There are hundreds of stories within the Metamorphoses, including stories-within-stories and stories-within-stories-within-stories. Pick one example of when Ovid uses a framing device to present a narrative. Explain how the nested story relates to the framing story and why Ovid might have presented these stories in this way.

Consensual sex and sexual assault both play large roles in the Metamorphoses. Discuss how Ovid uses either (or both) to explore power or other character dynamics.

Many of the myths within the Metamorphoses serve as aetiologies (origin stories). Compare and contrast two aetiological stories.

Almost all the stories in the Metamorphoses involve some element of transformation. Pick one example, and explain how it functions within the myth, paying close attention to the circumstances of the transformation and the result.

Ovid often focuses on forms of art other than literature, including (but not limited to) visual and auditory arts. Choose one form of art and trace its presence throughout the Metamorphoses. In what stories does this type of art appear, and with what characters does Ovid associate it? Why does Ovid focus on this medium?

The gods are powerful forces in the Metamorphoses. Pick one god or goddess and trace their characterization throughout several myths in which they appear.

At the beginning of the poem, Ovid claims that he will compose “one continuous song from nature’s first / Remote beginnings to our modern times” (1). Does Ovid achieve this goal, and in what ways do history and myth interact within the Metamorphoses? Make sure to explain how you define “history” and “myth.”