Ovidian Intertextuality: Some Considerations on Tr. 1 and Met. 11

Abstract

Having summed up the principal issues of the Tristia, as well as the ways in which scholars have approached Ovid’s exile works during the last few centuries, I will make a comparative analysis between Tr. 1.2‐4 and Met. 11.410‐748, the episode of Ceyx and Alcyone.The close intertextual connections that emerge from this analysis suggest not only that the fundamental textual source for Tr. 1.2‐4 is indeed Ceyx’ episode of the Metamorphoses, but also that these three poems, by sharing a common model, are interrelated, thus constituting a sort of unitary block. The aim of the paper is to show how Ovidian intertextuality may be profitably employed to shed light on Ovid’s modus operandi in arranging his works: indeed, the poet not only draws from other authors, but, especially in this case, also predominantly takes inspiration from his previous poetry and adapts it to a new context.