Ovid quotes Flashcards
opening lines
I’ve given the Greek arms, against Amazons: arms remain,
to give to you Penthesilea, and your amazon troop
talking to unmarried women
“though you lack the marriage ribbon”
mocking his pupils
“the greater part are not-so-good”
“if you’re short sit down”
“those with strong breath don’t talk when your fasting”
he gives advice which benefits men
“don’t deny your delights to loving men”
“why should any woman say ‘not now’?”
“as deny him sex if she’s received gifts”
“whatever wrong occurs, be lightly troubled”
claims his advice hinders him and other men
“no doubt I’ll be attacked with my own weapons”
sailing metaphors to mark out sections
“while we’re in a harbor, may you ride the gentle breeze”
“spread the full expanse of swelling sail”
industry metaphors
“Iron crumbles, stone’s worn away with use”
“though a thousand use it, nothing’s destoryed that way”
simile
“like a mangy ass braying at the shameful mill”
metonyms
“Bacchus you don’t go badly with Venus’ boy”
litotes
“not the least part of charm is walking”
apostrophe
“and your values, you rolled dice”
Venus commissioning the poem
“before my eyes/ stood venus herself, and ordered me to teach you”
Ovid defending women
“beware of loading the crime of many onto the few:
let the merits of each separate girl be seen”
final lines
“inscribe on your trophies ‘Ovid was my master’”
old age for women
“don’t be timid and waste any of your time”
“pluck the flower/ which, if not plucked, will of itself, shamefully, fall”
“alone, and aged, in the cold of night”
old age for men
“your older warrior loves sensibly and wisely”
“slow fires, like wet straw”
hairstyles
“another tied up behind, in Diana’s usual style”
“tangled hair suits many girls”
stretch marks
“marked with childbirths wrinkles/ like the swift child of Parthia, turn your mount around”
sex positions
“Andromache/ his theban bride, was too tall to straddle Hector’s horse”
“adopt a reliable posture for her body”
Andromache
“I find it hard to believe… that you ever slept with your husbands”
Puns and wordplay
“she gave me a leaf, and a few myrtle”
love as a skill to be taught
“what destroyed you all I ask? Not knowing how to love”
Ovid is betraying men to women
“let all be betrayed: I’ve unbarred the gates to the enemy”
pleasure
“let both delight equally in the thing”
“pretend to sweet delight with artful sounds”
