[Click To Enlarge]
Email A Friend - Gift Reminder |
Metamorphoses: A New Translation by Charles Martin
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$17.95
$10.97*
|
| Part No: | 039332642X |
| Manufacturer: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
|
|
- ISBN13: 9780393326420
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
"A version that has been long awaited, and likely to become the new standard."—Washington Post Ovid's epic poem—whose theme of change has resonated throughout the ages—is one of the most important texts of Western imagination, an inspiration from Dante's times to the present day, when writers such as Salman Rushdie and Italo Calvino have found a living source in Ovid's work. Charles Martin combines a close fidelity to Ovid's text with verse that catches the speed and liveliness of the original. Martin's Metamorphoses will be the translation of choice for contemporary readers in English. This volume also includes endnotes and a glossary of people, places, and personifications.
| Very Poor Translation | 2010-02-04 | 1 / 5 |
|
| This translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses by Charles Martin is one of the poorest examples I've found. This was recomended by Robert Fagles (one of my favorite translators/poets), and the Washington Post says it will likely become the new standard. It also won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award. What are these people reading? Is there another version of this translation out there? The Charles Martin translation that I read reduced one of the worlds most beautifull pieces of poetry to a silly puppet show. It's difficult by reading this to imagine that Martin has a commanding grasp of the Latin language, or maybe he's just a very poor writer. Either way, this book is not recommended to anyone for any reason. Try the Horace Gregory translation or wait with baited breath to see if Fagles will tackle this epic poem. Keep your fingers crossed and stay away from Martin. |
| A treasure of mythology | 2009-10-08 | 5 / 5 |
|
| I read mythology very often, and recently read Ovid's metamorphoses. It is a vital part of the classical mythology canon. I highly recommend anyone interested in mythology, stories, or just great literature to read it. |
| Unpleasant surprises and no happy endings. | 2008-12-27 | 5 / 5 |
|
Publius Ovidius Naso was born in 43 B.C and died in 18 A.D.
He was banished for unknown reasons to Tomi, a barren place near the coast of the Black Sea. A few scholars believe that this was a literary hoax created by Ovid himself. It would enable him to write the 'Tristia' and 'Letters From The Black Sea'.
'Metamorphoses' is his main achievement. It contains 250 stories from the Greek Mythology and they all have in common that the principal character changes into another form. Most of the time they turn into an animal or a tree but also in a river, a constellation of stars, a rock or a flower and other pleasant surprises.
If you read this book you won't find many happy endings. The ancient Greeks didn't know the meaning of that expression.
It's not an easy read but if you persist it will be a rewarding literary experience. |
| Vivid and entertaining reading | 2008-12-01 | 5 / 5 |
|
| First off, I'm not a scholar of Latin, nor of Ovid. I do speak another language, though, so I'm familiar with the problems of translations. That said, my impression of this translation is that it is a vivid and entertaining read. Many of the stories are familiar to any educated person, especially because they form the subject matter for many of the Western world's most famous paintings and sculptures. Martin makes the stories come alive, painting striking visual images with his words while gracefully preserving the rhythmic drive that seems to have been part of the original. And all this while translating from Latin, whose case-driven structure is quite different from English! It's impressive - and fun to read. |
| Greek myth | 2008-11-02 | 5 / 5 |
|
| Heavy going - but then again isn't all greek tragedy- but a good unbiased translation. Great classroom text. You will need a good background in other greek myth to get the underlying story lines in some of the metamorphoses work. Greek tragedy never stands alone but builds. |
)
