Ovid's Metamorphoses Literary Analysis

The poem Metamorphoses, by Ovid, a roman poet, is set in Ancient Greece, at the beginning of time. It is a poem of several greek myths and ideas compacted into one novelistic book. Ovid’s epic was originally written in Latin and later translated into English. In Metamorphoses, Ovid presents love as a large element, to show readers the many emotions and actions love can stir up. Characters strive for love so much, that their logic becomes hazy, making them do things impulsively. In the myths Narcissus and Echo, Eurydice and Orpheus, and Apollo and Daphne, Ovid sends us the messages, love doesn't come easily and you don’t always get what you want. The myth of Narcissus and Echo tells the tale of a nymph, unable to mold her own words, who is in love with a self-obsessed man. Eurydice and Orpheus is the story of a couple whose wedding day results in an unexpected tragic twist. When Eurydice dies walking down the aisle, Orpheus is willing to risk everything to be with her. The myth of Apollo and Daphne is the story of the god Apollo who is desperately in love …show more content…
He is in love with himself and his own appearance. Because Narcissus’s love and admiration for himself swallows him, he cannot fall for anyone else. The line, “He admires all that he’s admired for, for it is he that he himself desires.” (Met. 11. 546-547) shows how Ovid describes love as an unattainable power that forces characters to strive for it, regardless of any limits. Even though his love cannot be achieved Narcissus go to immense lengths. Narcissus goes to lengths by reaching into the water with the intention of physically embracing himself. When he fails to do so, Narcissus lashes out and becomes violent. The love people think of today does not exist in Ovid’s poem. Despite the limits characters surpass, Ovid still depicts love as a concept that you want but cannot have. The love represented by Ovid, in Metamorphoses is limitless and