The Distinct Epic Format of Ovid's Metamorphoses

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The Distinct Epic Format of Ovid's Metamorphoses

Ovid's "Metamorphoses" is sometimes argued as a non-epic as well as a true epic. It is mainly viewed as a non-epic because Ovid's subject matter is far from the heroic themes of the "Illiad", "Odyssey", and the "Aeneid" (Keith 237). Ovid was different and was motivated to push the epic beyond its previous boundaries (Ovid). Perhaps in hopes to confirm the structure of his work, Ovid declares that he will undertake "one continuous song in many thousands of verses" (Keith 238-239). Ovid's wording here is a self-conscious declaration that he is going to write in the epic mode.

Ovid consciously wants his style to be different, however still contained in the epic form. So, Ovid purposely inserts himself within the epic tradition. First Ovid composes "Metamorphoses" in hexameters, which is "the right metre for epic," according to Aristotle (Ovid). The method of hexameters was considered to be the meter in which epic poems were composed in classical antiquity (Keith 236). Ovid knew how to convince the people of his day of his intende...

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