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The Introduction takes the form of an account of Douglas's aims and methods in translation as stated by himself. One of the predominant features of the Eneados is the amount of expansion, so this subject is introduced in the first chapter, necessarily briefly, because it is a topic which recurs in association with other features throughout the poem and has to be returned to more than once. Another predominant feature is the large number of inaccuracies in Douglas's translation. As surprisingly little attention has been paid to this matter, several chapters have been devoted to the various forms which it takes. The aim of this first part of the thesis is to provide material to disprove the claim that Douglas was an accurate translator, a claim still frequently made. In order that the negative aspects of Douglas's work should not monopolise the study, a number of parallel passages are discussed, where Douglas's version is set out along with that of one of five other poets, spanning the period from the 16th century to the present day, the aim being to draw attention to Douglas's positive poetic skills. Three appendices are added, the last of which takes the form of a collation of the 1501 (Paris) edition of Virgil's Aeneid, which Douglas principally used, with the Oxford Classical Text (1969) This has been included to disprove another statement, to the effect that his apparent inaccuracies disappear when related to the 1501 text. The variations between the two texts, although numerous, are mainly insignificant, and only a very few of Douglas's inaccuracies are to be explained in this way.

This study examines the constructions and uses of the figure of Ovid in French writing of the second half of the seventeenth century, and explores how they were modulated by contemporary aesthetic and cultural concerns. As the influence of Ovid’s poetry made itself felt in various ways – in the mythopoeia of the Sun-King and the fashionable galant salons – interest in the story of Ovid’s life blossomed. This, I argue, was facilitated by new forms of ‘life-writing’, the nouvelle historique and histoire galante, and fuelled in unexpected ways by the escalating querelle des Anciens et des Modernes. Research has been done on the reception and influence of Ovid’s poetry in this period, but little attention has been paid to the figure of Ovid. This thesis offers a new perspective and, informed by recent renewed interest in life-writing, argues that analysis of biographical depictions is vital for establishing a coherent picture of the uses of Ovid in the ‘Grand Siècle’. I explore a diverse range of textual descriptions of Ovid (Vies; prefatory material attached to translations and editions of his work; correspondence; dialogues des morts; biographical dictionaries and historical novels), organized according to their different, though intersecting, ways of writing about this poet. He was constructed as a historical figure, an author, a fictional character and a ‘parallèle’ – a point of identification or contrast for contemporary writers. Through close analysis of a multi-authored corpus, this thesis identifies and examines two instances of paradox: though an ancient poet, Ovid became emblematic of 'Moderne' movements and was used to explore aspects of galanterie; and, though his creative work was mobilized in the service of royal propaganda, Ovid, as a figure for the exiled poet, was also used to express anxieties about the sway of power and the machinations and pitfalls of the world of the court.