Ovid's technique in the treatment of mythological characters and their stories has been well studied, especially in his later works that offer an abundance of mythological narratives. Other aspects of Ovidian studies include the exploration of allusions, as well as studies regarding genre. This study discusses the development of character-portrayal and generic play in a chronological sequence by focusing on the stories of two heroines in Ovid's poetic corpus: Ariadne and Deianira. The thesis is divided into two main parts, of which the first explores the accounts of Ariadne's story (in the Heroides, Ars Amatoria and Fasti) in three chapters and the second the accounts of Deianira's story (in the Heroides and the Metamorphoses) in two chapters. Each chapter explores the construction of identity by focusing on the male and/or female perspective(s) of each passage. Equal emphasis is given to generic play and allusion (with a particular attention on self-reference). Selected passages from Ovid's' Amores, Heroides, Ars Amatoria, Fasti and Metamorphoses, as well as from other poets (including Catullus, Propertius and Virgil) are integrated in the discussion to demonstrate that in addition to the previously acknowledged allusions and debts to previous texts and poets, Ovid displays a certain progression and differentiation regarding allusions, which is reflected in his treatment of the identity of his characters, as well as in generic play. The initial question of how Ovid treats characters and generic play is developed into how and why these two examples are central for Ovid's treatment of identity as well as genre. The discussion leads to the conclusion that Ovid's treatment of the two heroines emphasises that identity is intertwined so closely with the principle of duality and generic play in these poems that they become representative of this relationship throughout Ovid's corpus.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:590474 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Keramida, Despina |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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