Folio Archives 243: Metamorphoses by Ovid LIMITED EDITION 2008
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1wcarter
Metamorphoses by Ovid LIMITED EDITION 2008
Ovid’s epic poem of gods and mortals is a seductive and influential work. A twisting and witty narrative, it records about 250 tales of gods and maidens, monsters and heroes, comedy and tragedy. It was the original source for the story of Persephone in the underworld, and Theseus and the Minotaur.
This edition is illustrated with 16 tipped in colour plates of paintings by Titian, two being gatefolds. In the 16th. century Titian created a series of sublime paintings that illustrated scenes from Metamorphoses.
This limited edition has 484 pages, gilded page tops, a brown ribbon page marker and is bound in sensually tactile dark brown Nigerian goatskin blocked on the cover with a gilt design and with the title on the spine. It is housed in a dark brown buckram Solander case (36.2x28.2x7.5cm.) with spine gilt titling. The light brown endpapers are overprinted in various shades of brown with the title and author.
The translation is that done by Arthur Golding in 1567. There is a ten page introduction by Madeleine Forey and an eight page essay by Michael Podger. There are extensive notes and an index at the back of the book.
My copy is number 52 of 2750 copies. The price on publication was £295.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
Ovid’s epic poem of gods and mortals is a seductive and influential work. A twisting and witty narrative, it records about 250 tales of gods and maidens, monsters and heroes, comedy and tragedy. It was the original source for the story of Persephone in the underworld, and Theseus and the Minotaur.
This edition is illustrated with 16 tipped in colour plates of paintings by Titian, two being gatefolds. In the 16th. century Titian created a series of sublime paintings that illustrated scenes from Metamorphoses.
This limited edition has 484 pages, gilded page tops, a brown ribbon page marker and is bound in sensually tactile dark brown Nigerian goatskin blocked on the cover with a gilt design and with the title on the spine. It is housed in a dark brown buckram Solander case (36.2x28.2x7.5cm.) with spine gilt titling. The light brown endpapers are overprinted in various shades of brown with the title and author.
The translation is that done by Arthur Golding in 1567. There is a ten page introduction by Madeleine Forey and an eight page essay by Michael Podger. There are extensive notes and an index at the back of the book.
My copy is number 52 of 2750 copies. The price on publication was £295.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2MobyRichard
>1 wcarter:
Beautifu book all around but I found the translation unreadable. I have an easier time reading Chaucer than Golding.
Beautifu book all around but I found the translation unreadable. I have an easier time reading Chaucer than Golding.
3antinous_in_london
>2 MobyRichard: I have also always found this edition beautiful physically but was always wary of the translation given its age. It almost felt as if would be easier to go back to the original Latin than a translation that was published when Shakespeare was only 3 years old.
4Uppernorwood
This was the first Folio Society book I ever bought, and it still one of the best in terms of production.
The translation is archaic, but I read along while listening to an audiobook version which is a much better experience.
The translation is archaic, but I read along while listening to an audiobook version which is a much better experience.
5SyllicSpell
My first LE. It's a sumptuous volume. It was still on sale from FS when I bought it in 2015, so I'm guessing it was a slow seller.
I found the translation surprisingly readable, if a little lacking in nuance. It's worth noting that punctuation has been modernized in this edition which helps. It also contains a glossary. The main point of interest for a modern readers is that this is the translation that would have been known to Spenser, Marlowe and Shakespeare.
Edited to say thank you to >1 wcarter: for providing us with these pictorial reviews.
I found the translation surprisingly readable, if a little lacking in nuance. It's worth noting that punctuation has been modernized in this edition which helps. It also contains a glossary. The main point of interest for a modern readers is that this is the translation that would have been known to Spenser, Marlowe and Shakespeare.
Edited to say thank you to >1 wcarter: for providing us with these pictorial reviews.
6Quicksilver66
I love this edition and its one of my favourite FS LE's. Pure class.
I think Golding's translation is gorgeous. I agree that it's lacking in nuance and heavily "Christianised" - but it's an Elizabethan gem.
I think Golding's translation is gorgeous. I agree that it's lacking in nuance and heavily "Christianised" - but it's an Elizabethan gem.
7SyllicSpell
>6 Quicksilver66: Agreed. The main concern I hear about older translators like Golding, Dryden or Pope - other than the archaic language - is that you're reading Golding, Dryden or Pope rather than the original work. There is some truth to this, but that doesn't mean that the translations aren't works of art in and of themselves.
Robert Fagles says in the forward to his Oresteia "A translator’s best hope, I think, and still the hardest to achieve, is Dryden’s hope that his author will speak the living language of the day."
Anyway, a wonderful LE all round.
Robert Fagles says in the forward to his Oresteia "A translator’s best hope, I think, and still the hardest to achieve, is Dryden’s hope that his author will speak the living language of the day."
Anyway, a wonderful LE all round.
8terebinth
The paintings are most ravishing. As so often, the translation is divisive: my delight that Folio had chosen to use Golding's version melted away in view of the modernised orthography, and I sought out instead a copy of an edition published in 1965 by Macmillan USA, edited by J.F.Nims whose aim was to present a corrected but otherwise only minimally altered version of the 1567 text.
As Ezra Pound commented, "It should be read as natural spoken language...The reader will be well advised to read according to sense and syntax, keep from thumping, observe the syntactical pause, and not stop for the line ends save where sense requires or a comma indicates".
As Ezra Pound commented, "It should be read as natural spoken language...The reader will be well advised to read according to sense and syntax, keep from thumping, observe the syntactical pause, and not stop for the line ends save where sense requires or a comma indicates".
