Ovid's Metamorphoses

Hello!  My name is Charlotte and this is my comic!  Well, it’s not entirely my comic… I am translating and adapting a 2000+ year old Latin poem called the Metamorphoses.  It’s written by a real awesome dude named Ovid, who lived approximately 43 BCE – 17/18 CE –  so, really, he should get the writing credit…  I’ve modified some things here and there, so I will always post the corresponding lines of the poem below, along with my translation. (Latin nerds: feel free to email me and criticise my translation!)  It is my stated goal to remain as faithful to the poem as possible, but I do like to make it accessible to modern audiences at the same time.  So, check the Latin and throw something at me if I deviate too far!

I’m also doing a little PhD dissertation on this poem, so I will gush about the poem and the context below, if you fancy a gander at my ramblings…

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IN NOVA FERT ANIMUS MUTATAS DICERE FORMAS

CORPORA; DI, COEPTIS (NAM VOS MUTASTIS ET ILLA)

ASPIRATE MEIS PRIMAQUE AB ORIGINE MUNDI

AD MEA PERPETUUM DEDUCITE TEMPORA CARMEN.

 

MY MIND LEADS ME TO SPEAK OF FORMS CHANGED

INTO NEW BODIES; GODS, INSPIRE MY UNDERTAKING (FOR YOU HAVE CHANGED IT ALSO)

AND, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WORLD,

LEAD MY SONG UNBROKEN DOWN TO MY OWN TIMES.

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By far the shortest proem in epic history (for those who don’t know, a “proem” is essentially the introduction to a poem).  Homer’s Odyssey had 10 lines, and Vergil’s Aeneid had 11!  Ovid gives him poem a paltry 4-line introduction.  However, its short length belies its grand ambition: Ovid’s goal is no less than a cosmic history.  Let Homer and Vergil wax lyrical about their cry-baby men in their little dingies!  Ovid looks down at them from on top of the stars…