Rewriting Ovid

Over the past few weeks, we read various stories of transformations in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. We discussed how the stories might be reimagined in ways that change their meaning, and we encountered actual retellings and adaptations of them (such as Black Orpheus and Pygmalion). Pick one of Ovid’s stories and rewrite it by changing an important aspect or detail, such as its narrative voice and perspective, its setting in place/time, the identity of the characters, the nature of the transformation, or the mood and tone of the story. Then write a paragraph reflecting on the effects of your changes. How does your rewriting comment on Ovid’s version? What do you want to achieve through these changes? If you choose one of the longer stories we have read, you may wish or need to focus on a particular aspect of it in order to rewrite it in a shorter version. The assignment allows for some experimentation; feel free to discuss your ideas with your tutor or lecturer. This assignment is an exercise in reflective writing that gives you an opportunity to approach the learning outcomes 3, 4 and 5, by requiring you to think about the political, social, and/or cultural aspects of storytelling. Word limit: 1200-1700 words for rewrite; 500-700 words for reflection. Give your assignment a title and do not reproduce these instructions in the text. Be sure to include your name and university number, the course title, academic year and semester and the name of your tutor at the top of your essay. Research (beyond material introduced in the course) is optional, but you should follow the guidelines for citing and documenting your sources, posted on the Moodle (under general information).