This landmark translation of Ovid was acclaimed by Ezra Pound as 'the most beautiful book in the language (my opinion and I suspect it was Shakespeare's)'. The first English translation of one of the supreme masterpieces of Latin literature, Golding's Metamorphoses (1567) decisively influenced Shakespeare, Spenser and the character of English Renaissance writing. Ovid's deliciously witty and poignant epic starts with the creation of the world and brings together a series of ingeniously linked myths and legends in which men and women are transformed, often by love - into flowers, trees, stones and stars. This robustly vernacular version adds a Christian moral framework, clarifies obscurities and gives an English flavour to the rustic settings, thus making readily available to later writers a treasure trove of comic, eerie and erotic tales. Their echoes haunt Shakespeare's imagination from A Midsummer Night's Dream to The Tempest.

Arthur Golding (1536-1606) may clearly illustrate the sixteenth-century obsession with 'Englishing' classical texts and themes, yet his talent far transcends his age.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ The Broken Balsam; Or, The Story Of A Wreck, By Ennis May Mary Innes