The epic "Metamorphoses," Ovid s most renowned work, has regained its stature among the masterpieces of great poets such as Vergil, Horace, and Tibullus. Yet its irreverent tone and bold defiance of generic boundaries set the "Metamorphoses" apart from its contemporaries. "Ovid before Exile" provides a compelling new reading of the epic, examining the text in light of circumstances surrounding the final years of Augustus reign, a time when a culture of poets and patrons was in sharp decline, discouraging and even endangering artistic freedom of expression.
Patricia J. Johnson demonstrates...