Recommended translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses?
I've recently finished (and loved) The Golden Ass by Apuleius, and it has inspired me to read other classics. Next on my list is Ovid's Metamorphoses, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on translation.
First, there seems to be the divide between verse and prose translations, and in my research, it seems like there's a slight consensus toward the prose being the better way to enjoy the work in English. However, I am open to reading a verse translation if there's a particularly good one. When I was at the bookstore the other day, I did read the first few pages of David Raeburn's new verse translation for Penguin, but I frankly found it unreadable, both due to formatting and his dogmatic approach to the hexameter. My library has a variety of translations in both prose and verse, though, so I'm curious to hear what people's thoughts are. Also, if you have any other recommendations for classics to read, I'd love to hear them.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 9:39 PM UTC
I was required to read and reference the Horace Gregory translation in high school. Kicked ass.
It was very flowery and definitely as far from prose as you can get. I say that because as we translated stories on our own, we could reference the text to make sure we were on the right track. Gregory just picked up the text and ran with it. My translations weren't recognizable because Gregory just shapes the Latin into something else. He does a remarkable job at getting every word out of the text and making the work truly beautiful.
Also read the poetry of the great Catullus. I can't point you towards a translation because I did all the translations myself in school. You get tragedy, satire, romance, and anger all in one package.
Ovid's Ars Amatoria is also pretty neat but definitely 5 worlds away from Metamorphoses or Catullus. If you want a Roman take on "How to Pick Up Chicks," definitely check out.