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Ovid before Exile Art and Punishment in the Metamorphoses Patricia J. Johnson Wisconsin Studies in Classics William Aylward, Nicholas D. Cahill, and Patricia A. Rosenmeyer, General Editors Explores the Metamorphoses, Ovid’s response to the quelling of artistic freedom in late Augustan Rome 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’s 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 how the production of art—specifically poetry—changed dramatically during the reign of Augustus. By Ovid’s final decade in Rome, the atmosphere for artistic work had transformed, leading to a drop in poetic production of quality. Johnson shows how Ovid, in the episodes of artistic creation that anchor his Metamorphoses, responded to his audience and commented on artistic circumstances in Rome. “Johnson offer[s] useful interpretive observations, especially on Ovid’s use of his Greek and Latin influences.”—Choice Patricia J. Johnson is associate professor of classical studies at Boston University. For more information regarding publicity and reviews contact our publicity manager, Chris Caldwell, phone: (608) 263-0734, email: publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu

December 2010 LC: 2007011820 PA 200 pp. 6 x 9 Paper $29.95 s ISBN 978-0-299-22404-2 e-book $19.95 s ISBN 978-0-299-22403-5   Adobe Digital Edition (PDF) About our e-books Printing and cut/paste allowed, access on six different devices. ADD TO CART       Click here for a further explanation of the shopping cart feature. Wisconsin Studies in Classics • Replaces 2008 hardcover, UWP, 978-0-299-22400-4

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