Ovid Flashcards
(17 cards)
Who was Ovid’s intended audience?
Due to attitudes of the time, Ovid should be talking to girls who are unmarried and of low social status. Although, infames and girls of low social status could not read so could be another audience.
What was Ovid’s purpose in Ars Amatoria?
First two books instruct men on how to seduce women. Third book, instructing women on how to seduce men.
What does Ovid do that suggests he is not just writing for girls?
He makes fun of them, using criticism to make his ‘pupils’ a laughing stock.
What genre was Ars Amatoria and what was the genre?
Didactic poetry. Poetry which is intended to teach a lesson to its reader; instructional poetry.
If Ovid was writing for a male audience as well as a female one, how does the poem take a new tone?
The tone of the book changed and becomes a parody of didactic poetry and a joke at the expense of women.
What were published in 18 BC?
The Julian Laws on marriage and adultery.
What value of Augustus did Ovid dismiss?
Emphasising moral values and ending corruption.
What are Ovid’s choice of language?
Book 3: split by uses of nautical imagery (common in his works and Latin poetry in general).
Use of metonyms, litotes, similes, metaphors and hyperboles to humour his reader.
What motifs did Ovid use?
Use of mythological references to please the reader, giving a longing to be more like Diana or Phoebus.
Constant mentions of women from mythology as a moral compass for the reader.
What women does Ovid mention from mythology?
Women who have wronged their husbands: Helen, Clytemnestra and Eriphyle.
Women who are renowned for their love of their husbands: Laodamia, Alcestis and Evadne.
Women who have been wronged by men: Ariadne and Phyllis.
What does Gibson say about Ovid and humour?
‘Ovid uses humour as an effective tool for reinforcing the message.’
What are Ovid’s opinion on love and desire?
Love is a progressive game or contest with the winning prize being bedding your lover.
The most important factor in love is how to play the game to the best advantage.
Desiree is an important part of love and is useful to string men along and keep their interest.
What does Ars Amatoria mean and how is the modern interpretation different from the ancient one?
‘Ars Amatoria’= The Art of Love.
For Ovid, love is not necessarily romantic, love means the selection of the person you desire and the physical acts which follow.
Modern interpretation: Ars Amatoria= The Art of Seduction.
What are Ovid’s opinion on men and women?
Men and women are essentially battling. He claims to be teaching women but his intentions may have been to mock them at the advantage of his male audience.
He compares age on both genders, stating that when a woman has left her prime, a man has just entered it.
What are Ovid’s opinion on sex?
Ovid advocates that pleasure in sex is equal.
What are Ovid’s views on marriage?
Augustus was strict that adultery can only occur with an infame. Ovid says that his work is not intended for high class married women.
What are Ovid’s views on values/society?
He seems as though he is unafraid of going against Augustus and the government.
