Book contents
- Greek and Latin Poetry of Late Antiquity
- Greek and Latin Poetry of Late Antiquity
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part 1 A ‘Late’ Perspective on the Literary Tradition
- Part 2 Late Antique ‘Genres’ and ‘Genre’ in Late Antiquity
- Part 3 The Context of Late Antiquity
- Chapter 8 Saying the Other
- Chapter 9 Internal Audiences in the New Testament Epics of Juvencus and Nonnus
- Chapter 10 Colluthus and Dracontius
- Chapter 11 Objects of the Lusting Gaze
- Chapter 12 Metamorphosis and Mutability in Late Antique Epic
- Bibliography
- General Subject Index
- Index Locorum
Chapter 12 - Metamorphosis and Mutability in Late Antique Epic
from Part 3 - The Context of Late Antiquity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 June 2022
- Greek and Latin Poetry of Late Antiquity
- Greek and Latin Poetry of Late Antiquity
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part 1 A ‘Late’ Perspective on the Literary Tradition
- Part 2 Late Antique ‘Genres’ and ‘Genre’ in Late Antiquity
- Part 3 The Context of Late Antiquity
- Chapter 8 Saying the Other
- Chapter 9 Internal Audiences in the New Testament Epics of Juvencus and Nonnus
- Chapter 10 Colluthus and Dracontius
- Chapter 11 Objects of the Lusting Gaze
- Chapter 12 Metamorphosis and Mutability in Late Antique Epic
- Bibliography
- General Subject Index
- Index Locorum
Summary
This chapter looks at the adaptations, mutations, and analogies of Ovidian themes and dynamics of metamorphosis in Greek and Roman narrative poems. The first part offers a sampling of metamorphic moments in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, arguing for a far-reaching comparability with Ovidian techniques, and also opening up a comparison between Dionysiac metamorphosis and metamorphosis in the Christian story. The second part explores the uses of metamorphosis in Latin Christian poetry on biblical stories, and in narratives of conversion, taking examples from biblical epic, Paulinus of Nola, and Prudentius. The question is posed of whether there is a specifically Christian poetics of metamorphosis.
Keywords
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- Information
- Greek and Latin Poetry of Late AntiquityForm, Tradition, and Context, pp. 241 - 259Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022