Ovid, Amores (Book 1)

Reviewed by E.Del Chrol, Professor, Marshall University on 2/17/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Excellent treatment of the first book of Ovid's Amores. Provides information about the life of Ovid, scansion, the textual tradition (!). Each poem has a thorough introductory essay that directs students to possible interpretations of the poem and what to look for. There is a great deal of commentary (maybe even a bit too much for an intermediate student), and a full glossary with the frequency of each word listed -- excellent for deciding what is worth a flashcard.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found no errors in fact or data.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Author avoids tacky pop cultural references, maintaining a timeless style in the commentary. This is not that author eschews dealing with sensitive subjects like intimate partner assault (1.7) and racism (1.13).

Clarity rating: 5

But for the explanation of the textual tradition which is written in a technical style that clashes with the student-friendly tone of the rest of the text, the text is written lucidly. The formatting, font, and special symbols for scansion are quite easy to read. The overall package is quite attractive

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent throughout, I was surprised that unlike other volumes the commentary stayed at approximately the same volume and length throughout the book, instead of weaning students off the assistance. This may be from the knowledge that a class may not use all of a text but may pick and choose favorite poems.

Modularity rating: 5

Each individual poem can stand on its own.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Follows the poems

Interface rating: 5

It is a rather attractive production

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Text is standard, clear English, no typos that I saw, no infelicities of grammar.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Text treats the potential hot-button topics in Ovid like intimate partner violence and racism. Does not do so in an ideological way, and is a little tepid, but that provides space for the teacher to engage with the topics pointed out in the text.

Comments

I will likely adopt this text. In addition to the features mentioned above (the thorough commentary, good introductory essays, glossary with frequency of each word), there are a couple other excellent benefits of this textbook. It takes advantage of it being an online book. For example, in the suggested readings, everything has a DOI number, so students can go immediately to the article mentioned (provided their library gives them access to it, of course. Mine won't but that's not the book's fault). Also, there are readings in meter for all of the poems on youtube, linked at the end of the intro essays. For the print version there is a QR code that goes to the individual readings. As mentioned above, the textual tradition section was a bit detailed and technical for an intermediate student, but may still bear some interest. The other introductory essay about Ovid is tepid. The essay on scansion has probably more detail than a beginning student can master on one reading, but it presents excellent reasons why scansion is vital both for understanding a poem but for understanding the language as well. An excellent, good looking book, and it is remarkable it is open.