• What inspired your transformation? Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. The Metamorphoses continues to be retold through several media – in film, drama, opera, art, sculpture and so on. • compose poems using metaphor. transformations in ovid’s metamorphoses [This list has been prepared by Ian Johnston, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The Pervasiveness of Metamorphoses. • How would you interpret the characters' expressions? Subjects: Visual Arts, English–Language Arts (A speaker expresses his thoughts while experiencing a fragment of an ancient sculpture. • Have you ever been struck by something that you considered great but didn't have the words to describe? The popularity and timelessness of this work stems from the manner of story telling. Have students listen for the figurative language employed by their peers. 7. (Point out that the speaker uses simile ["eyes like ripening fruit; "torso...like a lamp"] and hyperbole ["suffused with brilliance from inside"].) For more information on sonnets, visit • interpret and compare literary and visual works of art. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast it with the fragment of Young Man. SL.CCR.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. The theme of the Metamorphoses is change and transformation, as illustrated in Graeco-Roman myth and legend. 4.0 Aesthetic Valuing • How did Daphne escape his pursuit? (Wanting to teach the pompous god a lesson, the mischievous Cupid shot two arrows at the unsuspecting Apollo and the mortal Daphne. In part one, students explore the theme of transformation in text and art by reading the story of Apollo and Daphne from Ovid's Metamorphoses and studying works of art related to the poem. • Which line or description do you think is most effective? Speaking and Listening Will you include a message or call to action like in Rilke's poem? What was its function? Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards It was Ovid’s vast retelling of the great myths of Greek and Roman civilisation that became the definitive classical text on the subject of transformation. The Theme Of Transformation In The Silence Of The Lambs And Lamia 810 Words | 4 Pages. ... Egeria's transformation occurs in the fifteenth and final book of Ovid's poem. Who made it? • How did Daphne escape his pursuit? R.CCR.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. SL.CCR.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Then ask for volunteers to read their completed poems aloud to the class. Visual Arts Content Standards for California State Public Schools Where can you find examples of figurative language in the poem? Open a discussion with your students by suggesting that sculptural art often presents characters isolated from the narrative context or setting. Inform students that this classically inspired sculpture, like many of its kind, displays the heroic nudity of its subject. • Connect to biological science by exploring examples of transformation that occur in nature (e.g., butterflies). Distribute copies of "Daphne and Phoebus" to your students. • Which parts of the poem would benefit from further explanation or detail? Many of the tales told by Ovid interact with the theme of impossible love—but especially the story of … It was written in epic metre but instead of focussing on a unified epic narrative, it collects together a large number of self-contained stories, including the tales of Daphne and Apollo, Diana and Actaeon, Daedalus and Icarus, Orpheus and Euridice, Achilles, Midas and many more. • How will you end your poem? Try to describe something by saying what it is like. In-depth explanations of The Metamorphoses's themes. Unquestionably, the major theme in Ovid’s Metamorphoses is transformations. • What inspired your transformation? (Note: The poem is in the form of a sonnet. The Homeric Iliad (c. 850 BC) soars to the literary heights of the sublime, and shows us how to live and die, to meditate on mortality, to embrace sorrow, to grip and then release hate, to truly love. Where can you find examples of figurative language in the poem? • Reproduction of Young Man by an unknown artist 4. • Consider the sculpture you saw before (Antonio Canova's Apollo Crowning Himself). A study in the transformations of a literary symbol Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. Time Required: 3–5–Part Lesson • Inform students that many objects from the ancient world are fragmentary due to the ravages of time, the elements, and human intervention. The popularity and timelessness of this work stems from the manner of story telling. In part two, students read an ekphrastic poem by Rainer Maria Rilke and study a related work of art. Metamorphoses Book 3: Pentheus and Bacchus. 2. 7. The Odyssey (c. 800 BC) takes us on an epic voyage f… • How does Apollo try to convince Daphne of his love? The tile of Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses literally translates to mean “transformation.” The compendium is actually itself a transformational work, merging a multitude of Greek and Roman historical traditions into one massive epic poem. The most obvious, of course, are the physical transformations, in which a living being or material object acquires a new form. Ovid called it “Metamorphoses” as he selected myths that dealt with the transformation of people, gods, and heroes into forces or features of nature. 5. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. Comparison of Ovid's and Kafka's Metamorphosis The Metamorphoses “Books of transformations” of the Roman poet Ovid, probably written from year 1 or 3 AD to around 8 AD, are in hexameters, known to be authored as mythological works on Metamorphoses (" transformations "). What questions might a scholar want to ask if he or she discovered a fragment? Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. Reading: Literature 2. It is extremely rare to have a full history of any work of art, particularly fragments.) His encyclopedic poem, The Metamorphoses, follows a narrative thread from the creation of the Earth to the transformation of Caesar into a god. The Metamorphoses (Latin: Metamorphōseōn librī: "Books of Transformations") is an 8 AD Latin narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid, considered his magnum opus.Comprising 11,995 lines, 15 books and over 250 myths, the poem chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. (The expression is blank, which is quite common in the stoic demeanor of ancient statuary. . Then ask for volunteers to take turns reading each paragraph aloud. • How is the human body compared to a tree? The main agent of transformation is love, represented by Venus Challenge them to take the reader through the experience from a description to an emotional, reflective, or philosophical impact. Part Two: Ekphrasis and Rilke's Poetry • Discuss another example of transformation from ancient mythology—the tale of Queen Niobe, who wept so much that Zeus turned her into stone. One recurring theme of Metamorphoses is that of Love. Popular examples include Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography. Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid was well known for his ability to tell phenomenal stories and this one was probably one of the greatest. The Saylor Foundation 1 Guide to Responding Study Guide for Ovid’s Metamorphoses Main Point Summary/Background: Metamorphoses is more than a collection of stories of mythical adventures, it is a meditation on the theme of metamorphosis or transformation in all its myriad forms. Major Themes in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Then ask for volunteers to take turns reading each stanza aloud. There are calls for Ovid's Metamorphoses to be taught with a trigger warning. • Reproduction of Apollo and Daphne by Jan Boeckhorst The emotion seemingly turns inward—stoic and reserved—rather than manifesting itself in an outward expression of loss.) Metamorphoses was the most influential of Ovid’s works for Shakespeare and his contemporaries. • What do you think draws someone's attention to a fragmentary work of art (e.g., curiosity of what is unknown, space for the imagination, a barometer of time and loss)? Modern sculptors imagined the pristine white as "classic" for their "Neoclassical" artworks, when in fact ancient sculptures more often were colorfully painted. Ultimately, she is transformed into a laurel tree.) 1. Display an image of Antonio Canova's Apollo Crowning Himself. Have partners discuss the poems by responding to the following questions: This epic involved many stories of different gods and different humans and their interactions. 1. • What does the sculptor convey about the character of Apollo through his pose? • Copies of the poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo," by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Stephen Mitchell (available on the Academy of American Poets Web site at RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. R.CCR.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. This type of poem may open with one idea—an argument—that may come to resolution by the end, a traditional transformation in sonnets. Reading: Literature Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Simultaneously, however, the nudity distances the deity from the mortal (clothed/cultured) experience, especially when the nude form suggests an idealized, immortal beauty. Lewis famously pointed out in The Allegory of Love (1936), our current, predominantly romantic notions of love were "invented" in the Middle Ages. Metamorphoses became one of the most popular and influential literary works in the history of European civilization. Inform your students that the poem was translated from German. Ovid was well known for his ability to tell phenomenal stories and this one was probably one of the greatest. Some years after Virgil, surfaced Ovid with his classic Metamorphoses which links a stunning array of mythological tales through the common theme of change or transformation. Have students write a poem that describes a transformation they've experienced. Inform students that the god Apollo was called by different names, depending on which role or duty he was fulfilling in a story. Nudity in art was reserved for mythological subjects, with the gods and goddesses nude as compared to clothed humanity. Storytelling joins the theme of transformation and the motif of art. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Metamorphoses and what it means. Clothing is one sign of culture, thus, nudity suggests the natural world rather than that of culture. With any translation there is a loss of meaning, whether in its words, rhythm, rhyme, or form. While only the torso remains, the individual experiences much in it, and from it.) Some years after Virgil, surfaced Ovid with his classic Metamorphoses which links a stunning array of mythological tales through the common theme of change or transformation. • Refer to Poetry and Music in Antiquity to evaluate how Apollo is portrayed in other tales. 3. Inform students that they will discuss other works of literary and visual art that explore the theme of transformation. • Encourage students to create an object for display during the performance of their poem that symbolizes the transformation they addressed in their writing. Students will be assessed on their ability to: Modern sculptors imagined the pristine white as "classic" for their "Neoclassical" artworks, when in fact ancient sculptures more often were colorfully painted. • Consider the sculpture you saw before (Antonio Canova's Apollo Crowning Himself). Popular examples include Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography. It does not include the changes which occur when gods disguise themselves as human individuals or as animals or temporarily alter their shape. In part two, students read an ekphrastic poem by Rainer Maria Rilke and study a related work of art. • Encourage students to create an object for display during the performance of their poem that symbolizes the transformation they addressed in their writing. Have students consider the following: A summary of Part X (Section9) in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Transformations in Ovid Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid s Metamorphoses. What is missing? The gods often make themselves look like humans so they can visit Earth and interact incognito with people. His lovelorn attempts include listing his admirable qualities, including his divine strengths and heritage.) • What problem sets the drama in motion? 6. This line establishes one of the main themes of the poem, transformation, and links it to the gods. The transformation theme unifies the episodes of the book. Inform students that marble itself was a noble material that connected the work of art to the ancient world; its pristine white surface seems to suggest divine qualities of light. Ovid’s wasn’t the first Metamorphoses. Cupid is mischievous, and proves tricky in his ability to transform the god into a love-crazed fool. The gods are always avenging themselves and changing mortals into animals or plants so that they can prove their own superiority. 5. 1. “Metamorphoses” is often called a mock-epic, as it is written in dactylic hexameter (the form of the great epic poems of the ancient tradition, such as “The Iliad”, “The Odyssey” and “The Aeneid”), unlike Ovid‘s other works. As its title suggests, Metamorphoses is an exploration of transformations of all kinds, from the pedestrian and obvious to the literary and oblique. Grades 9–12 • What part of the story does the artist draw in this image? So many different changes occur that people have long tried to find patterns in them and reasons that might explain why Ovid wrote his most famous poem. Ovid declares right at the beginning what his book is going to be about. Landscape in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Lesson Overview. Inform students that this classically inspired sculpture, like many of its kind, displays the heroic nudity of its subject. Many gods and goddesses emerge as individual, complex characters that are multifaceted and multidimensional entities, whether in singular works or across generations of poets' writings. • What motivates each of the main characters? For more information on sonnets, visit http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5791.) • interpret and compare literary and visual works of art. What is similar, and what is different? 5. In Roman stories, he commonly was called Phoebus when referring to his role as the god of light. • Use simile and hyperbole to describe the experience. • Discuss another example of transformation from ancient mythology—the tale of Queen Niobe, who wept so much that Zeus turned her into stone. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the story of Philomela’s rape and suppression of speech by Tereus reflects similar gender patterns of male domination that are found throughout classical literature.The story of Philomela is especially important because it reflects the difficulty people have talking about events that have silenced them. 4.2 Compare the ways in which the meaning of a specific work of art has been affected over time because of changes in interpretation and context, The Theme of Transformation in Poetry: Ovid's Metamorphoses, Exploring Art of the Ancient World at the Getty Villa, Assessing Online Resources for K-12 Teachers, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, http://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses1.html#6, http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15814, http://jacketmagazine.com/36/beck-rilke-torso.shtml, http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5791. Will you include a message or call to action like in Rilke's poem? • Reproduction of Apollo Crowning Himself by Antonio Canova Give students time to read the poem once quietly. Theme of Revenge in Metamorphoses Revenge is a recurring theme in the book Metamorphoses. • In the poem the speaker tries to describe the object that he sees. Inform students that marble itself was a noble material that connected the work of art to the ancient world; its pristine white surface seems to suggest divine qualities of light. • Reproduction of Young Man by an unknown artist It is usually the cause of whatever transformation the stories are explaining. • Reproduction of Apollo and Daphne by Jan Boeckhorst Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards Suggest to your students that fragments present scholars with an interesting set of problems. It does not include the changes which occur when gods disguise themselves as human individuals or as animals or temporarily alter their shape. 3. Ovid takes stories relevant to his culture and time period, and weaves them together into one work with a connecting theme of transformation throughout. Display a reproduction of Jan Boeckhorst's drawing Apollo and Daphne. transformations in ovid’s metamorphoses [This list has been prepared by Ian Johnston, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Grades 11–12 (Note: The poem is in the form of a sonnet. • What type of mood is suggested by the colors that are used? Jupiter, for example, takes on any number of disguises, such as turning himself into a bull, to pursue mortal women. Stories from ancient Greece and Rome have been interpreted and reinterpreted for centuries. • Artists can use strong light and shadow side by side to draw attention to important details in a scene. Ovid declares right at the beginning what his book is going to be about. It is written in hexameter verse. Lesson Overview. In part two, students read an ekphrastic poem by Rainer Maria Rilke and study a … Display an image of Young Man and distribute copies of a translation of the ekphrastic poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo" by Rainer Maria Rilke. Display an image of Red-Figure Loutrophoros by an unknown artist and discuss which parts of the story are depicted on the vessel. RL.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. Display an image of Young Man and ask the following questions: Nestor then tells the story of the Centauromachy, which was fought at the wedding of the Lapith king Perithous (Peirithoos) and Hippodameia after the Centaurs, unused to alcohol, became intoxicated and tried to abduct the bride -- abduction being a common theme in Metamorphoses, as well. The skeptical man was angry at the way the citizens of Thebes rushed … Challenge them to take the reader through the experience from a description to an emotional, reflective, or philosophical impact. • What does the sculptor convey about Apollo through his expression? After students have written their first drafts, invite them to share their poems with partners first. (Wanting to teach the pompous god a lesson, the mischievous Cupid shot two arrows at the unsuspecting Apollo and the mortal Daphne. What is missing? 37. Display an image of Young Man and ask the following questions: Learn and understand all of the themes found in Metamorphoses, such as Transformation. It is usually the cause of whatever transformation the stories are explaining. The gods are always avenging themselves and changing mortals into animals or plants so that they can prove their own superiority. ‘I intend to speak of forms changed into new entities.’ Generally, the gods either grant transformations in response to prayers, but for those transformed unwillingly, the change was normally cast as a punishment. Then ask for volunteers to take turns reading each paragraph aloud. Open a discussion about the poem by asking students the following: The main theme in this epic is the theme of change and transformation, which is the center of most of the myths that are told in the epic. Students will be able to: Transformations from one shape or form into another are the central theme in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. (He fashions some leaves from the tree in the form of a crown to wear upon his head to remember his love for Daphne.) • How would you interpret the characters' expressions? An important text that involved many myths is Metamorphoses, written by Ovid. (What is its original context? Then ask for volunteers to take turns reading each stanza aloud. Ultimately, she is transformed into a laurel tree.) (One leg is engaged and the other is relaxed, suggesting an air of aloofness or distraction, perhaps dumbstruck by love; his hand holds the leaves of the laurel, making Daphne's presence tangible, even in the transformation.) • Refer to Poetry and Music in Antiquity to evaluate how Apollo is portrayed in other tales. Was it an object, a person, or an event? Have students listen for the figurative language employed by their peers. Struck by a golden arrow true to love, Apollo became enraptured by the beautiful nymph. R.CCR.10. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. These themes, and others, Ovid explores throughout the Metamorphoses, doing his best to uncover every possible scenario for each trope.