Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Plays of Shakespeare

The number of ancient sources available to the readers and playwrights of Elizabethan times was truly immeasurable. These sources could be reached both as original texts in Greek and Latin, and in French and English translations. Popular indirect sources were translations of Italian Renaissance literature based on ancient prototypes.

Although Shakespeare, unlike Marlowe, never received a college education, his school education, in the traditions of the time, had to be classical and he had to master Latin and Greek on some level. It is possible then that Shakespeare could have used his own translations of some phrases and passages.

Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C – 17 A.D.), a Roman aristocrat and poet, wrote a collection of poems based on Greek and Roman mythology. Ovid called it “Metamorphoses” as he selected myths that dealt with the transformation of people, gods, and heroes into forces or features of nature. Metamorphoses became one of the most popular and influential literary works in the history of European civilization. Shakespeare must have read Ovid in Latin, as Metamorphoses was part of his school program. There is also a Latin copy of Metamorphoses with Shakespeare’s signature on it, but its authenticity is highly doubted by scholars.

What Shakespeare used on a daily basis was probably the English translation of Metamorphoses by Arthur Golding published in 1567. It was one of the most popular books of Elizabethan times, treasured for its entertaining plots and the moral lessons that Golding added to the ancient text. Shakespeare’s texts are full of direct quotations and indirect references to Ovid, as well as the moral connotations of ancient myths derived from Golding.

Titus Andronicus and Midsummer Night’s Dream include the most direct references to Ovid, re-telling the stories of Philomel, and Pyramus and Thisbe. Shakespeare must also have read Ovid in the original Latin. He uses the name Titania for the Queen of the Fairies, which was skipped in Golding’s translation.

Homer’s Illiad, written in the 8^th century BC, was reintroduced to Renaissance Europe by numerous translators and interpreters. Shakespeare could have known at least nine different versions of Homer’s text in Latin, French, and English. The most popular English translations were those of Arthur Hall, based on a French version (1581), and George Chapman’s translation from the original Greek (published in part in 1598 and in full in 1612). Some of the characters and events of the Iliad were included by Ovid into his Metamorphoses. Although only Troilus and Cressida was based directly on the work of Homer, Shakespeare’s plays are full of direct and indirect references to the heroes and tragic events of the Trojan War.

Lucius Apuleius was a Roman poet of the 2^nd century A.D. who wrote his own “Metamorphoses” known as The Golden Ass. It is the story of a young traveler who is accidentally transformed into an ass by magic. He undergoes many adventures and love affairs before he is restored to his human form by the goddess Isis.

The Golden Ass was translated into English by William Arlington in 1566 and widely known in Elizabethan times. The transformation of Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream, was most probably inspired by Apuleius. The entire atmosphere of the Forest scenes could also have been influenced by Apuleius’s work, which was full of ancient magic. A follower of the mysterious cult of Osiris and Isis, Apuleius was even charged with witchcraft. His defense speech “Apologia” that bought him freedom still leaves doubts as to the justification of his acquittal.

Plautus (ca. 254-184 B.C.) was a Roman dramatist who wrote a large number of comedies very popular in the Roman world and much later. He is known for complicated plots often based on the errors and misunderstandings of the characters. Shakespeare could have known these plays in the translation of William Warner. It is certain that some of Plautus’s plays were performed in the theater of Shakespeare’s time, as Polonius remarks that “Plautus [cannot be] too light” (Hamlet 2.2.396-397). Shakespeare could also have been familiar with them through the works of Italian poet Ariosto. Arioso’s play I Suppositi (1509), based on Plautus’s plays was translated into English by George Gascoigne as Supposes (1566).