Essay: Ovid's Metamorphoses

This week the story unit I selected came from the Classical selections of the UnTextbook.  To follow up my previous week’s selection of Jewish Fairy Tales I decided to transition into some Greek Mythology.  Therefore, my week 3 reading unit was Ovid’s Metamorphoses. 

I thought that the description of this unit was very clear regarding what the stories would talk about as well as what mythological characters would be represented throughout the unit.  Even before accessing the unit directly through the UnTextbook the small description was also clear in its outline.

Something I liked about this unit was its style of writing.  In comparison with the previous unit I read I think that this unit is more of how I picture stories being read as well as told.  That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate last week’s story unit, simply that I prefer this style of writing when reading materials like this.  I think it’s easier to lose yourself in a story when you read it from a storyteller perspective.  It was almost like The Princess Bride, where you watch the grandfather read the story to the boy, but you’re able to seamlessly immerse yourself into the story at the same time.  This style of story telling provides a story within a story and I think the levels contribute to the reader’s ability to identify with the fantasy elements.

The Princess Bride
DVD Artwork Cover
Acquired from Rotten Tomatoes 

Something I think this story could benefit from is maybe a character map.  I’m a very visual thinker at times and the presentation of information in chart format is extremely beneficial.  I think when dealing with subjects such as Greek Mythology a lot of individuals think they have some kind of base understanding when the reality is that these characters are inner woven and very complex at times. Perhaps the presence of a who’s related to who and how kind of chart would help people to reference when reading these kind of units.  Especially to provide a more holistic picture at the end of reading all the sections.

Storytelling Week Three: The Shirt of Nessus

When a woman is in a relationship she does a great many of questionable things.  It is a socially recognized phenomenon that girlfriends in today’s society are absolutely crazy.  However, the blame can’t be placed solely upon the shoulders of these women.  With all the social media these days tracking one’s significant other has become all too easy.  “Who just texted you?”  “Babe, if you like one more of her photos..”  “You were tagged WHERE with WHO?”  “Who’s this on your snap bestfriends?” “Why did you retweet her?”  I know for a fact that women say these things.  I know this because I’m a woman and I’ve said them and I surround myself with many a girl friend and I know they too have said them. 

Now most times women and their incessant need to play super spy on their significant other yields no result.  There is typically not another woman, or some hidden bungalow, or some sketchy offshore bank account.  If you have ever discovered one of these things… I’m sorry.  The offshore bank thing though?  You may want to call someone about that.  That being said it is always important to have some kind of plan, an emergency action strategy, in the event of a relationship-breaking occurrence.

 This is where the crazy really gets interesting as we women absolutely obsess over which course of action conveys the perfect message.  Should we go from the passive aggressive subtweet?  Maybe we should go directly to confront the source of the problem?  Play up some tears for some sympathy?  Let me go out all night and post an excellent snapstory.  No, I don’t want to seem too happy about it, I’ll just Instagram a girls night photo.  But this ice cream is too cliché so let me go on Pinterest and find a baking recipe first.  I definitely have to tweet that I’m working out, that’ll show em.  We all do this to some degree. Don’t even deny it.  It’s all in the pursuit of what action will best convey the message that you know and you are displeased.

You're a liar if you haven't at least considered this...
Image taken from Twitter
Original Source: Someecards

Author’s Note:  This week my story telling isn’t really a story so much as an account of what the modern instance of the situation would look like.  In the story The Shirt of Nessus, Deianira finds out that Hercules has cheated on her while he was away fighting.  When she finds out what happened she obsesses over how to handle the situation.  What should she say to Hercules?  How should she behave in front of the other woman?  Her inner turmoil is endless, until she reaches the perfect conclusion for what message to send.  As I was reading the story I couldn’t help but to draw tangencies between Deianira and the modern society girlfriend.   The original text has a detailed segment dedicated to the mental train that runs through Deianira’s mind before she finally reached that perfect conclusion.  I decided to write out the tangents that I identified during my reading because I thought they spoke volumes about how our society works today.  I also thought it was interesting that these tangents could be drawn to a classical greek mythology story.  The consistency in which we obsess over relationships and the “proper” course of action has maintained course throughout a long period of time. 
 

Bibliography:

Title: The Shirt of Nessus

Book: Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Author: Tony Kline

Year: 2000

Ovid's Metamorphoses Reading Diary B

In the second half of Ovid’s Metamorphoses unit the legends from ancient Greece continue to spill from the author.  These stories are continuously told on the same voice perspective as if an adult were reading these stories to a small child.  The stories all come from different pieces of greek mythology so seeing them inter woven together into a singular unit is really interesting. 

The story that struck me as interesting in the second half of the unit was the section was Pygmalion.  This story section was particularly interesting because last semester in my History of American Musical Theatre class we learned about how Pygmalion was the source material for the musical My Fair Lady.  Anyone who has ever seen or heard of My Fair Lady knows that it was a very successful piece of musical theatre and very valuable to the start of Julie Andrews’ career. 

Personally, having seen My Fair Lady several times and knowing that Pygmalion is the source material reading the story was a very interesting new perspective.  In some regards I can see how the thematic content ties together and where the inspiration can be seen weaving in and out of the two stories.  However, on the other hand the two are still very different and individual in their own artistic realms. 

After reading the Ovid’s Metamorphoses unit I’m glad this is the unit I decided to read.  The unit was a very different style of writing from my previous selection.  The change of style and content makes me feel like the materials in this class offer a broad range of topics which is a key part of furthering knowledge in my opinion. 

Original Soundtrack from My Fair Lady
Original Artwork from UK Vinyl 

Ovid's Metamorphoses Reading Diary A

For my week 3 reading unit I decided to select a collection of stories from the classical side of the untextbook suggestions.  During week 2 I read a biblical based unit and wanted to make sure that my experience in the class in well rounded.  I decided to read the Ovid’s part III Collection because I wanted to read some material that covered the legend and stories of Hercules.

The writing style of this story unit is very different from the unit I read last week.  I think it’s interesting that the voice of the author’s is so drastically different in the two sections.  The unit for this week is clearly told in a more formal classical style of story telling.  The sections are all seemingly being told from one stand point; almost as if a parent was reading a story to a child.  I think between the two styles I like this week’s better because it helps make the story flow seamlessly even when the topics aren’t directly related to one another. 

My favorite section from the first half of this unit was a story about Hercules.  The Shirt ofNessus was a particularly interesting story.  The main plot is that Hercules and his new bride are traveling and come across a river.  In attempt to cross safely Hercules goes across first and trusts that Nessus will bring his bride straight after him.  Nessus goes back on his word and is killed by Hercules; shot with a poisonous arrow, as “revenge” Nessus gives the bloody shirt to the wife.  Eventually in a later section it is revealed that the shirt leads to Hercules’ downfall.   

I really enjoy this section so far! It’s an interesting change from last week’s style!

Hercules Disney Version
Photo from Wikipedia