ovid ars amatoria quotes + analysis Flashcards
What is said in Part 1 (it’s time to teach you girls) about arming?
“Its not fair for armed men to battle w naked girls”
What quotes are said in Part 1 (its time to teach you girls)?
“Old age will come for you”
“The years go by like flowering waters”
“Pluck the flowers which, if not pluck will of itself shamefully fall”
What does Ovid say about virginity in Part 1? How does this differ to Sappho?
“Don’t be afraid of casual loss”
Views virginity as a casual loss - Sappho is more longing for it
What does Ovid say about beauty in Part 2 (take care w how you look)?
“Beauty neglected dies”
“You shouldn’t weight your ears w costly stones”
Men will flee if women are too extravagant
What does Ovid say in Part 3 (taste + elegance in hair + dress) about hair?
“There isn’t only one style”
“Another tied up behind, in Dianas usual style”
What’s the comparison made in Part 3 between men + women?
“How many ways you have to repair the damage” (to hair)
“Our hair snatched by time like leaves” (mens hair falls out)
What does Ovid say about laughs?
“One laughs stridently in a hateful manner, like a mangy ass”
What does Ovid say about wine + lust going well together?
“Bacchus you dont go badly with Venus’ boy”
What is Ovid saying about the wine and lust going well together?
Bacchus - God of wine goes well w Venus - Goddess of love
What tone is part 4 (Make-up but in Private)?
Disrespectful, misogynistic
Tells women not to allow men to see them dressing up
What does Ovid say disrespectfully in part 4?
“Wild goat under your armpits, no legs bristling with harsh hair!”
What does Ovid say about blushing in part 4?
“She who does not blush by blood, blushes by art”
What does Ovid say about cosmetic bottles in part 4? What does this mean?
“Don’t let your lover find cosmetic bottles on your dressing table”
Don’t make it fully aware to your lover that you wear make up + youre naturally beautiful
How does Ovid refer to make up in part 4? What does this show?
“Cream smeared” - ref to the ugliness of putting on make up - potentially humorous
What does Ovid say thats misogynistic + offers his own view in part 4?
“Many things that please when done, are ugly in the doing”
What does Ovid say in part 4 about marble?
“That was rough marble now it forms a famous stone” - metamorphosis that occurs when women put on makeup
Where does Ovid reference female power in part 4?
“We’ll think you too are sleeping while you do your face”
Is Ovid protecting men or women in part 4?
He references natural beauty of women + may be protecting them by giving them power to deceive men
He may be protecting men by protecting them from the fact that women have to put on makeup
Which beautiful women does Ovid reference in part 5 (Conceal your Defects)?
Semele, Leda, Sidon’s Europa, Helen
What does Ovid say about fault in part 5? What does this mean?
“Faultless forms are rare: conceal your faults, + hide your body’s defects”
Most people have flaws but its good to conceal imperfections
What does Ovid tell women to do in part 5?
Tells them how to behave + dress according to their body type, nails, shoulders etc
What does Ovid say in part 6 (Be Modest in Laughter + Movement) about teeth?
“If your teeth are blackened, from birth, laughing would be a fatal error”
What does Ovid’s teaching about teeth in part 6 show?
Misogyny - laughing is an instinct and not smth easily concealed
What does Ovid say in part 6 about feminine laughing?
“Laugh modestly, teeth mostly concealed by the lips” - unrealistic expectation
What does Ovid say in part 6 about bad laughter?
“Distort her fact perversely by guffawing”
“Shakes w laughed”
“Mangy ass braying” - compares her to a donkey
What does Ovid’s words about bad laugher in part 6 tell us?
Crude + absurd imagery to provide humour (for men?)
How does Ovid tell women to behave in part 6 overall?
Feminine - female power found in deception; achieved by presenting themselves as powerless + not intimidating compared to men
What does Ovid say about female deception in part 7 (Learn music + read the poets)?
“Sirens were sea monsters who, w singing voice, could restrain a ship’s course as they wished”
Music for women is a form of deception - singing is enchanting + lures men into destruction
What does Ovid say about singing for women in part 7?
“For many your voice is a better procuress than your looks”
Singing is good for girls who look plainer
What does Ovid advise women to do in part 7?
Advises the women to read Sappho’s poetry
What does Ovid tell women to do in part 8 (Be Seen Around)?
Tells women to visit various places to meet men or so men can see them
What locations does Ovid suggest in part 8?
Pompey’s Porch, Egyptian heifer, Palatine
All locations linked to Augustus - would’ve insulted him
What does Ovid say about poets in part 8?
“Poets were once the concerns of gods + kings”
No longer honouring + appreciating poets - making it about himself and status/fame
Who does Ovid directly mention in part 8?
Scipio = famous general defeated Hannibal
Ennius = considered the father of poetry
What is Ovid annoyed about in part 8?
Poets were celebrated + earned big rewards for their names - Ovid’s annoyed that he doesn’t have that when he writes poetry
What ref to Homer does Ovid make in part 8?
“Who’d know Homer if his immortal work the Iliad were unknown?”
What was the ref to Danae in part 8?
“Who’d know of Danae, if she’d always be imprisoned” - locked in a tower to prevent being killed by her son
What does Ovid say about the crowd in part 8?
“Lovely girls, the crowd is useful to you”
What is the metaphor of the sheep + wolf in part 8?
Women is the wolf - Man is the sheep
Women are cunning + can trap men - men can be trapped + won’t even realise
What does Ovid say about bait + fish in part 8?
“Always dangle your bait: the fish will lurk in the least likely pool”
