Tales from Ovid: 24 Passages from the Metamorphoses

Some of the best phrasing, the best use of language I have ever come across. A perennial favorite, I read it and re-read it, read it aloud to friends and have them read it back to me. Humans since the dawn of our age have been story tellers and listeners. And these stories, loved for thousands of years, gathered by the eternal Ovid are here retold in the hands of an undisputed master.

This is so readable, so enthralling, it's more like a collection of really well-written short stories than it is like typical modern poetry—and I'm a poetry fan! Ovid wrote up these tales about passion, of various sorts, during the time of Augustus Caesar, near the end of the Roman Empire. Ted Hughes has masterfully brought them into today's sensibilities. Worth reading and rereading...

summer reading was somewhat bareable

The 24 selections of Ovid's Metamorphoses that Ted Hughes translated is so modern and orginal, after reading Tales from Ovid by Ovid, Ted Hughes, I wish Hughes had translated the entire epic.Hughes is a brilliant poet and the way he wield words dazzled me for hours:Then Narcissus wept into the pool.His tears shattered the still shrineAnd his image blurred.He cried after it: "Don't leave me.If I cannot touch you at least let me see you.Let me nourish my starving, luckless love-If only by looking".Beautiful, huh?

This has leaped into my top ten - one of my favorite books of all time. Ted Hughes' translation is alive, crackling with energy, and full of surprises. This is a very important and seminal book from one of the classical world's greatest writers - in a translation that honors that genius. The Tales collected here are foundational stories from mythology.

Exactly what kiddo needed for her 9th grade literature class.

I believe that a review of a classical text like Metamorphoses should focus on the translation rather than the quality/value of the original text or its author. That is not to say that all classical texts are of equal value, but rather that authors such as Ovid, Homer, or Virgil had stood the test of time and the onus of deriving value from their works rests solely with us, their readers.My first encounter with Ovid was through Allen Mandellbaum' Everyman’s Library translation. His rendering was modern, lucid, and thoroughly engaging. Ted Hughes, being Poet Laureate, remains modern – e.g. Jove “deletes” humanity and suggest building a better “model” – but his focus is poetry rather than clarity. You can pretty much run through Mandellbaum’s tales but you must walk (at times even crawl) as you plow through Hughes translation. Yes, it might be a bit more daunting (and you better have a hefty dictionary nearby), but for the most part the effort is worth it.Partly due to Hughes’ superlative poetic imagination and partly due to the sheer insanity of the plot my favorite was the Tereus/Procne/Philomela tale. But, as one might expect, it is Pyramus and Thisbie – the original star-crossed lovers and one of the few tales which do not feature divine rape – which aptly conclude this collection.For those new to Ovid I would probably recommend starting elsewhere, but whether you start or finish with Hughes’ Tales you would be doing yourself a grave poetic misjustice to neglect it altogether.

Such a great translation. Easy to read and interesting. I could have read the entire book in one sitting if I would have had the time.

I bought this book after learning that Ovid was one of the inspirations for Shakespeare's development as a writer. I was slightly apprehensive as I have read Catullus in translation and that is quite a struggle in places. However, there is no other way to describe this poetry than as the work of a genius. Each poem is essentially a prose poem concerning a Roman/Greek legend and Ted Hughes has produced a work of the highest quality in his translation. Very easy to read and just brilliant stories superbly captured. Some are well known and some are much more obscure, but all are written with witty and flowing text that is so easy to read and appreciate. Ovid clearly loved life (and especially women) and his joy and humour is evident in all of the poems. Morality tales are embedded in almost all the stories, considering they are 2000 years old they all touch the heart and soul in a way that makes Ovid feel very modern. I can understand why Shakespeare loved these poems and was inspired by them. The combination of story telling, humour and sharp observation makes every page a joy.

Great condition

Still a great read after 20 years since first published.

Just what I was looking for.

Ted Hughes has brought life back to Ovid’s spectacular Metamorphoses!