Cummings
Guides Home..|..Contact
This Site
.
.
Plot
Summary
Based on a 1717 English
Translation by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Others
By Michael J. Cummings ©
2008
.
.
.......One
day the river god Cephisus impregnates the water nymph Liriope after forcing
himself upon her. After she gives birth to a boy, called Narcissus, she
asks the prophet Tiresias whether her child will have a long life. “If
e’er he knows himself,” Tiresias answers, “he surely dies.”
.......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.
.
Setting
.
The action is set in or
near the ancient Greek city of Thespiae in the republic of Boeotia, north
of Attica.
Characters
..
Narcissus:
Proud youth who rejects the attentions of maidens.
Echo:
Mountain nymph who falls in love with Narcissus.
Rhamnusia:
Goddess of vengeance, Nemesis.
Liriope:
Mother of Narcissus. She is a water nymph often referred to as a Nereid
because she is one of the daughter of a sea god, Nereus.
Cephisus:
Father of Narcissus. He is a river god.
Tiresias:
Blind soothsayer.
Jupiter:
King of the gods. His Greek name is Zeus.
Juno:
Queen of the gods. Her Greek name is Hera.
Dryads:
Tree-dwelling nymphs who mourn the death of Narcissus.
Naiads:
Nymphs dwelling in lakes, rivers, and springs. They mourn the death of
Narcissus.
.
Type
of Work
.
The story is part of the
third book of Metamorphoses, a long narrative poem by Ovid about
mythological, legendary, and historical characters and circumstances that
undergo a transformation.
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
.
The climax occurs when Narcissus
realizes that he has fallen in love with his own reflection. This realization
of his self-love fulfills the prophecy of Tiresias.
.
.
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.
Another reason is that there
is no Latin equivalent of the English definite article (a, an,
or the). Consider the following Latin phrase:
oculus dexter.
Oculus
means eye, and dexter means right. However, the phrase in English
does not mean eye right; rather, it means the  right
eye. As you can see, Latin places the adjective after the noun, not
before it, and it does not use an article before the noun. In addition,
a verb in a Latin sentence or phrase usually has a different position than
a verb in an English phrase or sentence. Consider the following Latin sentence:
Poeta
puellam amat. A word-for-word literal translation renders it as Poet
girl loves. However, its correct translation is The poet loves the
girl.
.......There
are many other differences—too
numerous to discuss here—between
Latin and English.
.......As
a result of these differences, translators of Latin literary works try
to capture the spirit of them rather than presenting a literal rendering
of them. In addition, they may change the meter of a verse work and add
rhyme to it. For example, the following English translation of "Narcissus
and Echo" uses pentameter with
iambic
feet rather than hexameter with dactylic or spondaic feet. It also contains
end rhyme.
Narcissus
and Echo
By Ovid
.
| 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.
English
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 Bacchus1
might not scorn to show,
And
hair that round Apollo's2
head 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
Lines 55-166 of Book IV of Metamorphoses
Ille per Aonias fama celeberrimus
urbes
inreprehensa dabat populo
responsa petenti;
prima fide vocisque ratae
temptamina sumpsit
caerula Liriope, quam quondam
flumine curvo
inplicuit clausaeque suis
Cephisos in undis
vim tulit: enixa est utero
pulcherrima pleno
infantem nymphe, iam tunc
qui posset amari,
Narcissumque vocat. de quo
consultus, an esset
tempora maturae visurus
longa senectae,
fatidicus vates 'si se non
noverit' inquit.
vana diu visa est vox auguris:
exitus illam
resque probat letique genus
novitasque furoris.
namque ter ad quinos unum
Cephisius annum
addiderat poteratque puer
iuvenisque videri:
multi illum iuvenes, multae
cupiere puellae;
sed fuit in tenera tam dura
superbia forma,
nulli illum iuvenes, nullae
tetigere puellae.
adspicit hunc trepidos agitantem
in retia cervos
vocalis nymphe, quae nec
reticere loquenti
nec prior ipsa loqui didicit,
resonabilis Echo.
Corpus
adhuc Echo, non vox erat et tamen usum
garrula non alium, quam
nunc habet, oris habebat,
reddere de multis ut verba
novissima posset.
fecerat hoc Iuno, quia,
cum deprendere posset
sub Iove saepe suo nymphas
in monte iacentis,
illa deam longo prudens
sermone tenebat,
dum fugerent nymphae. postquam
hoc Saturnia sensit,
'huius' ait 'linguae, qua
sum delusa, potestas
parva tibi dabitur vocisque
brevissimus usus,'
reque minas firmat. tantum
haec in fine loquendi
ingeminat voces auditaque
verba reportat.
ergo ubi Narcissum per devia
rura vagantem
vidit et incaluit, sequitur
vestigia furtim,
quoque magis sequitur, flamma
propiore calescit,
non aliter quam cum summis
circumlita taedis
admotas rapiunt vivacia
sulphura flammas.
o quotiens voluit blandis
accedere dictis
et mollis adhibere preces!
natura repugnat
nec sinit, incipiat, sed,
quod sinit, illa parata est
exspectare sonos, ad quos
sua verba remittat.
forte puer comitum seductus
ab agmine fido
dixerat: 'ecquis adest?'
et 'adest' responderat Echo.
hic stupet, utque aciem
partes dimittit in omnis,
voce 'veni!' magna clamat:
vocat illa vocantem.
respicit et rursus nullo
veniente 'quid' inquit
'me fugis?' et totidem,
quot dixit, verba recepit.
perstat et alternae deceptus
imagine vocis
'huc coeamus' ait, nullique
libentius umquam
responsura sono 'coeamus'
rettulit Echo
et verbis favet ipsa suis
egressaque silva
ibat, ut iniceret sperato
bracchia collo;
ille fugit fugiensque 'manus
conplexibus aufer!
ante' ait 'emoriar, quam
sit tibi copia nostri';
rettulit illa nihil nisi
'sit tibi copia nostri!'
spreta latet silvis pudibundaque
frondibus ora
protegit et solis ex illo
vivit in antris;
sed tamen haeret amor crescitque
dolore repulsae;
extenuant vigiles corpus
miserabile curae
adducitque cutem macies
et in aera sucus
corporis omnis abit; vox
tantum atque ossa supersunt:
vox manet, ossa ferunt lapidis
traxisse figuram.
inde latet silvis nulloque
in monte videtur,
omnibus auditur: sonus est,
qui vivit in illa.
Sic hanc,
sic alias undis aut montibus ortas
luserat hic nymphas, sic
coetus ante viriles;
inde manus aliquis despectus
ad aethera tollens
'sic amet ipse licet, sic
non potiatur amato!'
dixerat: adsensit precibus
Rhamnusia iustis.
fons erat inlimis, nitidis
argenteus undis,
quem neque pastores neque
pastae monte capellae
contigerant aliudve pecus,
quem nulla volucris
nec fera turbarat nec lapsus
ab arbore ramus;
gramen erat circa, quod
proximus umor alebat,
silvaque sole locum passura
tepescere nullo.
hic puer et studio venandi
lassus et aestu
procubuit faciemque loci
fontemque secutus,
dumque sitim sedare cupit,
sitis altera crevit,
dumque bibit, visae correptus
imagine formae
spem sine corpore amat,
corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
adstupet ipse sibi vultuque
inmotus eodem
haeret, ut e Pario formatum
marmore signum;
spectat humi positus geminum,
sua lumina, sidus
et dignos Baccho1,
dignos et Apolline2
crines
inpubesque genas et eburnea
colla decusque
oris et in niveo mixtum
candore ruborem,
cunctaque miratur, quibus
est mirabilis ipse:
se cupit inprudens et, qui
probat, ipse probatur,
dumque petit, petitur, pariterque
accendit et ardet.
inrita fallaci quotiens
dedit oscula fonti,
in mediis quotiens visum
captantia collum
bracchia mersit aquis nec
se deprendit in illis!
quid videat, nescit; sed
quod videt, uritur illo,
atque oculos idem, qui decipit,
incitat error.
credule, quid frustra simulacra
fugacia captas?
quod petis, est nusquam;
quod amas, avertere, perdes!
ista repercussae, quam cernis,
imaginis umbra est:
nil habet ista sui; tecum
venitque manetque;
tecum discedet, si tu discedere
possis!
Non illum
Cereris, non illum cura quietis
abstrahere inde potest,
sed opaca fusus in herba
spectat inexpleto mendacem
lumine
formam
perque oculos perit ipse
suos; paulumque levatus
ad circumstantes tendens
sua bracchia silvas
'ecquis, io silvae, crudelius'
inquit 'amavit?
scitis enim et multis latebra
opportuna fuistis.
ecquem, cum vestrae tot
agantur saecula vitae,
qui sic tabuerit, longo
meministis in aevo?
et placet et video; sed
quod videoque placetque,
non tamen invenio'--tantus
tenet error amantem--
'quoque magis doleam, nec
nos mare separat ingens
nec via nec montes nec clausis
moenia portis;
exigua prohibemur aqua!
cupit ipse teneri:
nam quotiens liquidis porreximus
oscula lymphis,
hic totiens ad me resupino
nititur ore.
posse putes tangi: minimum
est, quod amantibus obstat.
quisquis es, huc exi! quid
me, puer unice, fallis
quove petitus abis? certe
nec forma nec aetas
est mea, quam fugias, et
amarunt me quoque nymphae!
spem mihi nescio quam vultu
promittis amico,
cumque ego porrexi tibi
bracchia, porrigis ultro,
cum risi, adrides; lacrimas
quoque saepe notavi
me lacrimante tuas; nutu
quoque signa remittis
et, quantum motu formosi
suspicor oris,
verba refers aures non pervenientia
nostras!
iste ego sum: sensi, nec
me mea fallit imago;
uror amore mei: flammas
moveoque feroque.
quid faciam? roger anne
rogem? quid deinde rogabo?
quod cupio mecum est: inopem
me copia fecit.
o utinam a nostro secedere
corpore possem!
votum in amante novum, vellem,
quod amamus, abesset.
iamque dolor vires adimit,
nec tempora vitae
longa meae superant, primoque
exstinguor in aevo.
nec mihi mors gravis est
posituro morte dolores,
hic, qui diligitur, vellem
diuturnior esset;
nunc duo concordes anima
moriemur in una.'
Dixit
et ad faciem rediit male sanus eandem
et lacrimis turbavit aquas,
obscuraque moto
reddita forma lacu est;
quam cum vidisset abire,
'quo refugis? remane nec
me, crudelis, amantem
desere!' clamavit; 'liceat,
quod tangere non est,
adspicere et misero praebere
alimenta furori!'
dumque dolet, summa vestem
deduxit ab ora
nudaque marmoreis percussit
pectora palmis.
pectora traxerunt roseum
percussa ruborem,
non aliter quam poma solent,
quae candida parte,
parte rubent, aut ut variis
solet uva racemis
ducere purpureum nondum
matura colorem.
quae simul adspexit liquefacta
rursus in unda,
non tulit ulterius, sed
ut intabescere flavae
igne levi cerae matutinaeque
pruinae
sole tepente solent, sic
attenuatus amore
liquitur et tecto paulatim
carpitur igni;
et neque iam color est mixto
candore rubori,
nec vigor et vires et quae
modo visa placebant,
nec corpus remanet, quondam
quod amaverat Echo.
quae tamen ut vidit, quamvis
irata memorque,
indoluit, quotiensque puer
miserabilis 'eheu'
dixerat, haec resonis iterabat
vocibus 'eheu';
cumque suos manibus percusserat
ille lacertos,
haec quoque reddebat sonitum
plangoris eundem.
ultima vox solitam fuit
haec spectantis in undam:
'heu frustra dilecte puer!'
totidemque remisit
verba locus, dictoque vale
'vale' inquit et Echo.
ille caput viridi fessum
submisit in herba,
lumina mors clausit domini
mirantia formam:
tum quoque se, postquam
est inferna sede receptus,
in Stygia spectabat aqua.
planxere sorores
naides et sectos fratri
posuere capillos,
planxerunt dryades; plangentibus
adsonat Echo.
iamque rogum quassasque
faces feretrumque parabant:
nusquam corpus erat; croceum
pro corpore florem
inveniunt foliis medium
cingentibus albis. |
. |
Study
Questions and Essay Topics
1.
Write an essay informing the reader about rejection or avoidance of women
as a major motif in literary works. Among the works you may wish to research
are Ovid's "Pygmalion," Shakespeare's
Love's
Labours Lost, Shakespeare's Venus
and Adonis, and Turgenev's
Father's
and Sons.
2.
Psychologists use the words narcissism, narcissist, and narcissistic
when referring to or describing a mental condition or a person exhibiting
symptoms of this condition. What are the definitions of these words?
3.
Write an essay focusing on the motif of excessive pride in Greek literature.
Among the literary works you may wish to discuss in your essay are the
Theban
plays of Sophocles.
.
.
Now
Available...............................Shakespeare:
a Guide to the Complete Works...................................................
By the Author
of This Web Site
Plot Summaries
of All the Plays and Narrative Poems | Themes | Imagery | Historical Background
| Glossaries
Shakespeare's
Theatre | Drama Terms | Essays | Analysis of the Sonnets | and Much More
|
Publisher's
Web Site Amazon.com
|
.
|