Reading Notes: Ovid’s Metamorphoses Part A

Ovid’s Metamorphoses Part A

My reading analysis

Upon reading this Roman mythological tale, I wasn’t as excited about it compared to the Cupid and Psyche story that I had read last week. Though the content for the story is very interesting and keeps the reader entertained, I feel as though the flow of the story from section to section is not very uniform. The only things that seemed to keep me moving forward were the notes that Professor Gibbs had left above each story before getting into the rest of the read. Aside from possibly me just not focusing enough while reading, I loved the imagery! Some of my favorite writing is when authors will personify objects so that their adjective usage connects to the setup in a complex way. The way that Kline would describe the water, the doors, the clouds, even the light was something that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

When it comes to character development, it doesn’t seem to be as great. There could be more moments in the story where Kline described more of what each character was feeling rather than everything around them or the bystander characters and their emotions so vividly. One example is during his “Io” story. She became meta-morphed into an animal and seemed to have lost raw emotion until left alone and given thought. How was it that she was so reluctant to graze like a cow and move as a cow but once her reflection was shown and her voice did not sound like it should is when she discovered her metamorphosis? Maybe they could have had her discover the fact that she had changed and then show her living her life out like the creature she had become. Overcome with depression in that state could be the push she uses to seek out her family and ultimately try and be saved and reverted back.

There were also issues with how quickly the change seemed to resolve itself. I thought there would be a more dramatic ending considering the wrath that Juno was written to have about the havoc being placed before her, yet everything went to be a more smooth process instead. It was hard to wrap my head around because I do like happy endings but at the moment it didn't seem like the right lead-in. Maybe in the future, there could be more dialogue as to how a resolve happened so seamlessly?

Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline (Un-Textbook)
Image: Crying Cattle (Picryl)