Author Description
Seventeenth-century France saw one of the most significant 'culture wars' Europe has ever known. Culminating in the Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns, this was a confrontational, transitional time for the reception of the classics. Helena Taylor explores responses to the life of the ancient Roman poet, Ovid, within this charged atmosphere. To date, criticism has focused on the reception of Ovid's enormously influential work in this period, but little attention has been paid to Ovid's lives and their uses. Through close analysis of a diverse corpus, which includes prefatory lives, novels, plays, biographical dictionaries, poetry, and memoirs, this study investigates how the figure of Ovid was used to debate literary taste and modernity and to reflect on translation practice. It shows how the narrative of Ovid's life was deployed to explore the politics and poetics of exile writing; and to question the relationship between fiction and history. In so doing, this book identifies two paradoxes: although an ancient poet, Ovid became key to the formulation of aspects of self-consciously 'modern' cultural movements; and while Ovid's work might have adorned the royal palaces of Versailles, the poetry he wrote after being exiled by the Emperor Augustus made him a figure through which to question the relationship between authority and narrative. The Lives of Ovid in Seventeenth-century French Culture not only nuances understanding of both Ovid and life-writing in this period, but also offers a fresh perspective on classical reception: its paradoxes, uses, and quarrels.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This study investigates how the biographical narrative of the Roman poet Ovid served as a critical tool for debating literary taste, modernity, and the politics of exile within seventeenth-century French culture. Helena Taylor, a scholar of early modern French literature, utilizes a diverse corpus of texts—ranging from memoirs and plays to biographical dictionaries—to argue that Ovid functioned as a paradoxical figure. She demonstrates how the reception of his life story allowed French writers to navigate the tensions between classical authority and the emerging modern aesthetic, ultimately reshaping the understanding of life-writing during this transitional period.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of diverse literary forms including prefatory lives, novels, plays, and poetry.
- Examination of the Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns.
- Investigation into the intersection of exile writing, political authority, and historical fiction.
Scope Limits
- The study focuses specifically on the seventeenth-century French context rather than a comprehensive history of Ovidian reception across all of Europe.
- It prioritizes the use of Ovid's life narrative over a detailed analysis of his primary poetic works.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars recognize this work as a significant contribution to the field of classical reception studies, particularly for its focus on the instrumental use of biography in early modern cultural debates. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the precision with which Taylor navigates the complex intellectual climate of the period.
Page Count:
208
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192516876
ISBN-13:
9780192516879
History
Biography
Literary Criticism
Classical Reception
Seventeenth Century
French literature
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