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English 240: Ancient Literature Ovid, The Art of Love Al Drake | Cyber Cafe M/W 10-11 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com Book 1 1. How does the narrator refer to the god “Love” at the beginning of his first book? How seriously does he take this god? Aside from Eros the God, what exactly does Ovid apparently mean by “love”? Is it romance, or just sex? Or both? Explain with reference to an example or two. 2. What view of women comes through in the first book? Do you think that Ovid's narrator looks down on women, or are they represented as neither better nor worse than men? Explain. 3. To what extent does Ovid's narrator appear to think love holds sway over all else in life? is it just a small part of life, or the most important thing in life? Explain with reference to at least one specific passage. 4. To what extent does Ovid's narrator approve of deception in the service of love? Does sincerity trump acting and deception during a love pursuit, or is it the other way around? Or would you explain Ovid's view on honesty and deception some other way? 5. What purpose do Ovid's various allusions to Greek and Roman mythology serve in the first book? Are they just “window dressing” or ornamentation, or do they significantly enhance the ideas set forth concerning love? Book 2 6. What does Ovid apparently think about fidelity--does it matter whether men and women are faithful to one another? How closely should a man watch over his wife's conduct? When a man is caught committing adultery, how, according to Ovid, should he handle the situation? 7. What comments does Ovid make about the temper of his times? Most particularly, what does he say about the power of money with respect to love affairs, and how does he describe the value of his advice in comparison to that power? 8. Ovid counsels men that a certain amount of deception and flattery is necessary when it comes to dealing with women; what underlies this advice, aside from the desire to succeed in love? Does he simply think women are vain, or is there more to it than that? 9. What good advice does Ovid offer men in this book? What advice, if any, do you disagree with? Why? Book 3 10. What does Ovid imply about marriage? Does he take it seriously? How should a woman conceive of her role once she marries? Should she challenge the patriarchal order, or work within it? Explain. 11. In a broader context, to what extent do you think Ovid rebels against the existing social order -- do you suppose he is trying to undermine public morality, or is he up to something else, something that applies mainly to private individuals? Explain. 12. Why is Ovid, when he advises women, so interested in adornment of all kinds? What does this interest have to do with his apparent conception of human nature and his idea of the good society? 13. A general question -- Tom Wolfe's latest novel is entitled I Am Charlotte Simmons, and it deals with sexual mores on today's college campuses. What do you think of this issue? Do you approve or disapprove of what appears to be a rather open and even aggressive attitude towards sexual experience on the part of both young men and young women? Edition. Ovid. The Love Poems. Trans. A.D. Melville. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.
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