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By Ovid (43 BC-AD 17) From Book III of Metamorphoses A Study Guide . Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings...© 2008
Type of Work . The action is set in or near the ancient Greek city of Thespiae in the republic of Boeotia, north of Attica. Characters
By Michael J. Cummings © 2008
Based on a 1717 English Translation by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Others Liriope does not understand this perplexing reply. Only the passage of time will reveal it to her. When Narcissus turns sixteen, he is so extraordinarily handsome that young maidens burn with desire for him. While hunting in the woods, he attracts the attention of the mountain nymph Echo, who was robbed of the ability to voice her thoughts after incurring the wrath of the queen of the gods, Juno. Here is what happened. The king of the gods, Jupiter, had once persuaded Echo to distract Juno with idle conversation so that he could sneak away and meet with a paramour. At the appointed time, Echo jabbers on, depriving Juno of the opportunity to spy on Jupiter. Later, when Juno discovers what Echo was up to, she punishes her by rendering her incapable of speaking any words except the last two or three she has heard someone else say. These she must repeat. Consequently, she speaks only “with mimick [mimic] sounds, and accents not her own.” Upon seeing Narcissus, she—like other maidens—cannot resist his charms and yearns to reveal to him her love. But, bearing the heavy burden of Juno’s curse, she can only repeat his last words in a voice that sounds like his. When words he speaks reverberate back to him, he calls out to meet with whoever is mimicking him. Heartened, Echo approaches him and, by throwing her arms around him, communicates her love. However, Narcissus, proud and vain, coldly rejects her. He will not deign to occupy his time with this lowly maid. Thereafter, she pines away for his love until nothing is left of her except the sound of her mimicking voice. “Her bones are petrify'd, her voice is found / In vaults, where still it doubles ev'ry sound." Meanwhile, another love-struck admirer seeks his love, but proud Narcissus ignores the suit. Frustrated and angry, the suitor prays to the gods, “Oh may he love like me, and love like me in vain!" The goddess of vengeance, known by the names of Rhamnusia and Nemesis, hears the prayer and decides to answer it. The occasion for the retribution comes when Narcissus is out hunting again and, hot and tired, decides to rest next to a pristine fountain surrounded by pleasant verdure and high trees that provide cooling shade. When he bends over the fountain to quench his thirst, he sees in the water a wondrous face and immediately falls in love with it, unaware that he is looking at himself. The well-turn'd neck and shoulders he descries, The spacious forehead, and the sparkling eyes; The hands that Bacchus might not scorn to show, And hair that round Apollo's head might flow; With all the purple youthfulness of face, That gently blushes in the wat'ry glass.Narcissus kisses the reflection and tries to pull it out of the water, to no avail. Nevertheless, he remains at the fountain, forsaking sleep and food. He cries out in desperation:"You trees," says he, "and thou surrounding grove, Who oft have been the kindly scenes of love, Tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye [lie] A youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I? I, who before me see the charming fair, Whilst there he stands, and yet he stands not there."Narcissus then thinks the image must feel the same way he does, frustrated with longing for an embrace but unable to gain one. Finally, he realizes what is happening:Ah wretched me! I now begin too late To find out all the long-perplex'd deceit; It is my self I love, my self I see.Still, he cannot turn his eyes from the fountain. When he cries, his tears disturb the waters, and the reflection blurs and wrinkles. Narcissus rips off his garment and beats at his chest. His unrequited love is killing him.As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run, And trickle into drops before the sun; So melts the youth, and languishes away, His beauty withers, and his limbs decay; And none of those attractive charms remain, To which the slighted Echo su'd in vain.Echo sees and pities him. When he cries, "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," Echo replies, “Ah youth! belov'd in vain." After he dies, nymphs prepare an urn to hold his ashes. However, when they look for it, they find a beautiful flower in its place.
Themes Excessive Pride Narcissus is excessively proud, believing that Echo and other admirers worthy of his attentions. In ancient Greece, excessive pride was a grave sin that ultimately causes the downfall of those who exhibit it. Unrequited Love Echo wastes away after Narcissus refuses to return her love. Narcissus withers and turns into a flower after realizing that the image in the fountain is merely a reflection in the fountain and, therefore, incapable of expressing love. Vengeance Rhamnusia (Nemesis), the goddess of vengeance, punishes Narcissus by making him fall in love with his own image. Juno punishes Echo by robbing her of the ability to voice her thoughts. Male Abuse of Females Cephisus rapes Liriope. Jupiter is unfaithful to Juno. Narcissus cruelly rejects the attentions of Echo. Climax and Fulfillment of the Prophecy  Style and Verse Format Although he based the tales in Metamorphoses on existing stories, Ovid presents them with a freshness and originality that made them uniquely his own. His writing is vivid, elegant, and succinct, with the stories—including "Narcissus and Echo"—generally moving swiftly from beginning to end without tedious digressions or inflated language. Metamorphoses was highly popular with readers of the Augustan age (27 BC to AD 14, when Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman Empire) and became one of the best read books of the Renaissance, influencing Shakespeare and other prominent writers. The themes and motifs are as timely today as they were 2,000 years ago. Ovid wrote Metamorphoses in heroic hexameter, the dignified verse format of ancient epic poetry. Heroic hexameter consists of unrhymed lines that each contain six feet. Each foot is either a dactyl (a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables) or a spondee (two stressed syllables). The number of syllables per line varies depending on the number of dactyls and spondees in it. A dactyl tends to accelerate the narrative in the same way that an allegro and a presto accelerate music; a spondee tends to slow the narrative like an adagio in music. Ovid chose dactyls more often than spondees so that the narrative moves along briskly. English Translations of Latin Works When translating Latin classics into English, writers generally interpret the Latin words rather than presenting a verbatim rendering of them. One reason for this approach is that Latin inflection and word order differ substantially from English inflection and word order.
Background In Book III of Metamorphoses, Ovid first tells other stories about mythological figures, including the blind prophet Tiresias, famous in all the cities of Aonia for his ability to see the future. In making the transition from the story about Tiresias to the story of Narcissus and Echo, Ovid notes that the first person
ever to seek out Tiresias for a prophecy is a water nymph, Liriope, who gave birth to a boy, called Narcissus, after the river god Cephisus raped her. Liriope wants Tiresias to tell her whether the boy will live a long life. From a 1717 Translation of Metamorphoses by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison, William Congreve, and Others Fam'd far and near for knowing things to come, From him [Tiresias] th' enquiring nations sought their doom; The fair Liriope his answers try'd, And first th' unerring prophet justify'd. This nymph the God Cephisus had abus'd, With all his winding waters circumfus'd, And on the Nereid got a lovely boy, Whom the soft maids ev'n then beheld with joy. The tender dame, sollicitous to know Whether her child should reach old age or no, Consults the sage Tiresias, who replies, "If e'er he knows himself he surely dies." Long liv'd the dubious mother in suspence, 'Till time unriddled all the prophet's sense. Narcissus now his sixteenth year began, Just turn'd of boy, and on the verge of man; Many a friend the blooming youth caress'd, Many a love-sick maid her flame confess'd: Such was his pride, in vain the friend caress'd, The love-sick maid in vain her flame confess'd. Once, in the woods, as he pursu'd the chace [chase, hunt] The babbling Echo had descry'd his face; She, who in others' words her silence breaks, Nor speaks her self but when another speaks. Echo was then a maid, of speech bereft, Of wonted speech; for tho' her voice was left, Juno a curse did on her tongue impose, To sport with ev'ry sentence in the close. Full often when the Goddess might have caught Jove and her rivals in the very fault, This nymph with subtle stories would delay Her coming, 'till the lovers slip'd away. The Goddess found out the deceit in time, And then she cry'd, "That tongue, for this thy crime, Which could so many subtle tales produce, Shall be hereafter but of little use." Hence 'tis she prattles in a fainter tone, With mimick sounds, and accents not her own. This love-sick virgin, over-joy'd to find The boy alone, still follow'd him behind: When glowing warmly at her near approach, As sulphur blazes at the taper's touch, She long'd her hidden passion to reveal, And tell her pains, but had not words to tell: She can't begin, but waits for the rebound, To catch his voice, and to return the sound. The nymph, when nothing could Narcissus move, Still dash'd with blushes for her slighted love, Liv'd in the shady covert of the woods, In solitary caves and dark abodes; Where pining wander'd the rejected fair, 'Till harrass'd out, and worn away with care, The sounding skeleton, of blood bereft, Besides her bones and voice had nothing left. Her bones are petrify'd, her voice is found In vaults, where still it doubles ev'ry sound. Thus did the nymphs in vain caress the boy, He still was lovely, but he still was coy; When one fair virgin of the slighted train Thus pray'd the Gods, provok'd by his disdain, "Oh may he love like me, and love like me in vain!" Rhamnusia pity'd the neglected fair, And with just vengeance answer'd to her pray'r. There stands a fountain in a darksom wood, Nor stain'd with falling leaves nor rising mud; Untroubled by the breath of winds it rests, Unsully'd by the touch of men or beasts; High bow'rs of shady trees above it grow, And rising grass and chearful greens below. Pleas'd with the form and coolness of the place, And over-heated by the morning chace, Narcissus on the grassie verdure lyes: But whilst within the chrystal fount he tries To quench his heat, he feels new heats arise. For as his own bright image he survey'd, He fell in love with the fantastick shade; And o'er the fair resemblance hung unmov'd, Nor knew, fond youth! it was himself he lov'd. The well-turn'd neck and shoulders he descries, The spacious forehead, and the sparkling eyes; The hands that Bacchus1might not scorn to show, And hair that round Apollo's2head might flow; With all the purple youthfulness of face, That gently blushes in the wat'ry glass. By his own flames consum'd the lover lyes, And gives himself the wound by which he dies. To the cold water oft he joins his lips, Oft catching at the beauteous shade he dips His arms, as often from himself he slips. Nor knows he who it is his arms pursue With eager clasps, but loves he knows not who. What could, fond youth, this helpless passion move? What kindled in thee this unpity'd love? Thy own warm blush within the water glows, With thee the colour'd shadow comes and goes, Its empty being on thy self relies; Step thou aside, and the frail charmer dies. Still o'er the fountain's wat'ry gleam he stood, Mindless of sleep, and negligent of food; Still view'd his face, and languish'd as he view'd. At length he rais'd his head, and thus began To vent his griefs, and tell the woods his pain. "You trees," says he, "and thou surrounding grove, Who oft have been the kindly scenes of love, Tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye A youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I? I, who before me see the charming fair, Whilst there he stands, and yet he stands not there: In such a maze of love my thoughts are lost: And yet no bulwark'd town, nor distant coast, Preserves the beauteous youth from being seen, No mountains rise, nor oceans flow between. A shallow water hinders my embrace; And yet the lovely mimick wears a face That kindly smiles, and when I bend to join My lips to his, he fondly bends to mine. Hear, gentle youth, and pity my complaint, Come from thy well, thou fair inhabitant. My charms an easy conquest have obtain'd O'er other hearts, by thee alone disdain'd. But why should I despair? I'm sure he burns With equal flames, and languishes by turns. When-e'er I stoop, he offers at a kiss, And when my arms I stretch, he stretches his. His eye with pleasure on my face he keeps, He smiles my smiles, and when I weep he weeps. When e'er I speak, his moving lips appear To utter something, which I cannot hear. "Ah wretched me! I now begin too late To find out all the long-perplex'd deceit; It is my self I love, my self I see; The gay delusion is a part of me. I kindle up the fires by which I burn, And my own beauties from the well return. Whom should I court? how utter my complaint? Enjoyment but produces my restraint, And too much plenty makes me die for want. How gladly would I from my self remove! And at a distance set the thing I love. My breast is warm'd with such unusual fire, I wish him absent whom I most desire. And now I faint with grief; my fate draws nigh; In all the pride of blooming youth I die. Death will the sorrows of my heart relieve. Oh might the visionary youth survive, I should with joy my latest breath resign! But oh! I see his fate involv'd in mine." This said, the weeping youth again return'd To the clear fountain, where again he burn'd; His tears defac'd the surface of the well, With circle after circle, as they fell: And now the lovely face but half appears, O'er-run with wrinkles, and deform'd with tears. "Ah whither," cries Narcissus, "dost thou fly? Let me still feed the flame by which I die; Let me still see, tho' I'm no further blest." Then rends his garment off, and beats his breast: His naked bosom redden'd with the blow, In such a blush as purple clusters show, Ere yet the sun's autumnal heats refine Their sprightly juice, and mellow it to wine. The glowing beauties of his breast he spies, And with a new redoubled passion dies. As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run, And trickle into drops before the sun; So melts the youth, and languishes away, His beauty withers, and his limbs decay; And none of those attractive charms remain, To which the slighted Echo su'd in vain. She saw him in his present misery, Whom, spight of all her wrongs, she griev'd to see. She answer'd sadly to the lover's moan, Sigh'd back his sighs, and groan'd to ev'ry groan: "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," Narcissus cries; "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," the nymph replies. "Farewell," says he; the parting sound scarce fell From his faint lips, but she reply'd, "farewell." Then on th' wholsome earth he gasping lyes, 'Till death shuts up those self-admiring eyes. To the cold shades his flitting ghost retires, And in the Stygian waves it self admires. For him the Naiads and the Dryads mourn, Whom the sad Echo answers in her turn; And now the sister-nymphs prepare his urn: When, looking for his corps, they only found A rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crown'd Notes 1. Roman name for Dionysus, the god of wine, revelry, ecstasy, and vegetation. 2. Reference to the Roman and Greek name for the god of music, poetry, prophecy, and medicine. Apollo was also identified with the sun. In myths and literary allusions, he is often depicted as driving a golden chariot (the sun) across the sky. Original Latin Ille per Aonias fama celeberrimus urbes
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