Banished Voices: Readings in Ovid's Exile Poetry (Cambridge Classical Studies) - Softcover

Williams, Gareth D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 052103681X ISBN 13: 9780521036818

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Synopsis

This study examines the literary complexities of the poetry Ovid wrote in Tomis, the poet's place of exile on the Black Sea after he was banished from Rome by the emperor Augustus in A.D. 8. Exile transforms Ovid into a melancholic poet of despair who claims that his creative faculties are in terminal decline. These claims are contested in this study through close and original analysis of the literary maneuvers that contradict Ovid's pose. The evidence thus revealed counteracts traditional scholarly antipathy to these poems.

About this title

Book Description:

This study examines the literary complexities of the poetry which Ovid wrote in Tomis, his place of exile after his banishiment from Rome. The author contests Ovid's claims of the terminal decline of his art through close analysis of the literary manoeuvres contradicting his prose, counteracting traditional scholarly antipathy to these poems.

From the Back Cover:

This study examines the literary complexities of the poetry which Ovid wrote in Tomis, his place of exile on the coast of the Black Sea after he was banished from Rome by the emperor Augustus in A.D. 8 because of the alleged salaciousness of the Ars Amatoria and a mysterious misdemeanour which is nowhere explained. Exile transforms Ovid into a melancholic poet of despair who claims that his creative faculties are in terminal decline. But recent research has exposed the ironic disjunction between many of the poet's claims and the latent artistry which belies them. Through a series of close readings which offer a new analytical contribution to the scholarly evaluation of the exile poetry, Dr Williams examines the nature and the extent of Ovidian irony in Tomis and demonstrates the complex literary designs which are consistently disguised under a veil of dissimulation. Gareth Williams aims to counteract traditional scholarly antipathy to the exile poetry, which could be said to represent the last frontier in modern Ovidian studies. Scholars working in the field will welcome his insights.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 052103681X
• ISBN 13: 9780521036818
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248