Ovid Poem Notes Flashcards
What does the hunting imagery tell lovers?
Lovers must be like hunters and fishermen, whatever their prey
‘Tuis’ is at the end of line 1 for emphasis. Why?
Impose responsibility on the recipient
What sort of grammatical feature is ‘ubi tendat’?
Relative purpose clause
What sort of clause is common in this type of poem?
Relative purpose clause
‘Frendens’ is used a lot to describe what?
A wild boar
Give a passive verb in the first five lines?
Natentur
To teem
How does Ovid emphasise the endurance of his love affair?
On line 6, the words ‘longe… Amori’ are separated
What sort of imagery is in the first 5 lines?
Hunting imagery
What do we know from Catullus about love affairs?
Short love affairs are preferred by poets of the time
What is Ovid’s love affair like? Is this unusual?
Long
What he obtains is different and less transitory to the general poet society
What is his tone like in lines 6-7? Give evidence
Direct
‘Disce’ imperative
How are lines 6-7 emphasised?
Hyberbation- unnatural word order
‘Ante’ should belong with ‘disce’ but they are separated
How is ‘puella’ use poetically in line 7?
It is used as a singular when the meaning is plural
What do his instructions mean on line 9 onwards. Give the examples of how this is juxtaposed
He who is seeking love need not journey far
Perseus beheaded Medusa
Paris won Helen
What is the story of Perseus and Andromeda?
Perseus beheaded Medusa with his eyes turned away to avoid her eyes. He was on his way past Ethiopia when he saw Princess Andromeda chained to a rock as a sacrifice to the sea monster. He killed the monster and brought her home as his bride
What does Ovid mean when he says india? How do we know?
Ethiopia
‘Nigris’
What is the story of Paris?
Paris won Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world as a prize for choosing Aphrodite as the fairest Greek goddess. He had to travel from Troy to Sparta to steal her from husband Menelaus
What in line twelve emphasises the abundance of girls in Rome?
Alliteration of ‘t’ sounds
What does the alliteration of ‘t’ sounds in line 12 reflect?
The abundance of girls in Rome
What does the force of the past tense ‘fuit’ show?
The Rome of Ovid’s day contains as many kinds of girl as the whole of the ancient world
What imagery is used in lines 14-16? What grammar? What does this show?
Nature imagery
Similes
Depicts the countless number of women
E.g. As many as the stars, birds etc
Where does Catullus use nature imagery and similes like Ovid?
In his poem ‘how many kisses?’
What in line 13 onwards emphasises the vast number of women?
Anaphora of ‘quot’
What balances out the ‘quot’ section?
A final ‘tot’ on line 16
