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Original Text and Commentary

     In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas

corpora; di, coeptis (nam vos mutastis et illas)

adspirate meis primaque ab origine mundi

ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen!

     Ante mare et terras et quod tegit omnia caelum                                                        5

unus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe,

quem dixere chaos: rudis indigestaque moles

nec quicquam nisi pondus iners congestaque eodem

non bene iunctarum discordia semina rerum.

nullus adhuc mundo praebebat lumina Titan,                                                               10

nec nova crescendo reparabat cornua Phoebe,

nec circumfuso pendebat in aere tellus

ponderibus librata suis, nec bracchia longo

margine terrarum porrexerat Amphitrite;

utque erat et tellus illic et pontus et aer,                                                                       15

sic erat instabilis tellus, innabilis unda,

lucis egens aer; nulli sua forma manebat,

obstabatque aliis aliud, quia corpore in uno

frigida pugnabant calidis, umentia siccis,

mollia cum duris, sine pondere, habentia pondus.                                                        20

     Hanc deus et melior litem natura diremit.

nam caelo terras et terris abscidit undas

et liquidum spisso secrevit ab aere caelum.

quae postquam evolvit caecoque exemit acervo,

dissociata locis concordi pace ligavit:                                                                          25

ignea convexi vis et sine pondere caeli

emicuit summaque locum sibi fecit in arce;

proximus est aer illi levitate locoque;

densior his tellus elementaque grandia traxit

et pressa est gravitate sua; circumfluus umor                                                               30

ultima possedit solidumque coercuit orbem.

     Sic ubi dispositam quisquis fuit ille deorum

congeriem secuit sectamque in membra coegit,

principio terram, ne non aequalis ab omni

parte foret, magni speciem glomeravit in orbis.                                                           35

  1. Apostrophe: Ovid begins the Metamorphoses by directly addressing the gods. He asks them to bless his poems that explain the world from its origin to the present day (roughly 8 AD). 

  2. (Nam vos mutastis et illas): For you all transform these things–Ovid acknowledges the power of divinity 

  3. The term “In nova” is an example of authors outlining the time frame or theme of a story in the first few words. Is it a technique that many poets and authors employed to concisely set the tone for their pieces (Anderson) 

  4. Coeptus, -us, m., beginning 

  5. Adspiro, -are, -avi, -atum, to breathe/bless 

  6. Meter of line 4: The DDSD structure of this line alludes to the rhythm of Ovid’s songs throughout the Metamorphoses. The half note double quarter note nature of the line resembles the structure of a beat or baseline that a song can be created from. 

  7. Mundus, -a, -um, clean 

  8. Deduco, -ere, -uxi, -uctum, to lead  

  9. Indigestus, -a, -um, disorderly 

  10. The “que” suffix indicates the article “and” after the word is occupies 

  11. Rudis indigesta: Ovid introduces the idea of separation versus creation through the symbol of the disorderly mass. 

  12. Discordia, -ae, f., disagreement 

  13. Semina rerum: A metaphor for growth and an allusion to the potential of the discordant matter (Anderson). 

  14. Nullus…Titan: An antonomasia used to denote the sun’s absence. 

  15. Crescendus, -a, -um, which is to become visible 

  16. Nec…Phoebe: Phoebe is the titaness of intellect and the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, the gods of the sky and earth respectively. Her lack of existence is another example of antonomasia employed to denote the absence of sentient beings in the beginning of the world.  

  17. Circumfusus, -a, -um, surrounded 

  18. Tellus, telluris, f., earth 

  19. Porrigo, -ere, porrexi, porrectum, to stretch out 

  20. Amphitrite is the goddess of the sea and wife of Posiedon in Greek mythology. Instead of the wrathful image of Poseidon himself, Ovid utilizes the symbol of Amphitrite to convey the beauty and grace of the sea. 

  21. Instabilis, instabile, unsteady 

  22. Egeo, -ere, egui, egiturus, to lack 

  23. Nulli: Dative, dative of reference (Anderson) 

  24. Obsto, -are, -iti, obstaturus, to stand before 

  25. Hanc deus: This god–Ovid reinforces the insignificance of the creator’s identity. 

  26. Evolvo, -ere, -i, evolutum, to unfold 

  27. The alliteration of the sound “it” in line 24-27 indicates the consistent and significant sequence in which the heaven, air, the earth, and the sea were formed. 

  28. Coerceo, -ere, -ui, -itum, to enclose on all sides 

  29. Possedit…coercuit: A metaphor for the affection of Amphitrite (Anderson) 

  30. It is only after the god separated the elements that he created nature: The sky, the land, the sea, and the weather (Anderson).

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