OVID

Source for 'The World's Wife' ­ Roman poet, Ovid's 'Metamorphosis'. 

A collection of linked and intertwined stories exploring the process of

transformation among the gods and mortals.

The following characters appear in Ovid's work:

Eurydice
Medusa
Thetis and Circe
Tiresias
Icarus
Sisyphus
Pygmalion

1
From Fairy tale to Greek myth... Poem no2 in the
collection

THETIS
She was one of the Greek sea nymphs known as the
Nereids.
Famous for being mother of Achilles.
It was his fate to be stronger than his (mortal)
father and to die at Troy.
Even though Thetis knew this was his fate, she tried
to make him immortal by dipping him the river Styx
and by ordering him a special suit of armour.
She also tried to persuade him not to fight Hector to
avenge the death of his best friend Patroclus.
He was killed by an arrow hitting his heel - the bit
that hadn't been dipped in the river Styx.
In Homer's 'Iliad' she is presented as a mother
concerned only for her son and the awareness that
he is doomed to die an early death.

2
Ovid focuses on Theis' attempts to evade
being captured by a man as opposed to her
roles as a mother.

Read the translation

How is Thetis represented?

How are men represented?

What role does transformation play in the story?

What is the overall message of the story?

3
Translation of Ovid’s story of Thetis
Old Proteus had once said to Thetis, ‘Bear
A child, fair goddess of the waves. For you
Shall be the mother of a youth whose deeds
In his brave years of manhood shall surpass
His father’s and he’ll win a greater name.’
Therefore, for fear the world might ever have
A greater than himself, Jove shunned the bed
Of Thetis, fair sea­goddess, though his heart
Was fire with no cool flame, and in his place
As lover bade his grandson Peleus take
In his embrace the virgin of the waves.
There is a curving bay in Thessaly,
Shaped like a sickle; two long arms run out
And were the water deeper there would be
A harbour. Smooth across the shallow sand
The sea extends; the shore is firm; it hold
No footprints, slows no passage, slopes unlined
By seaweed. Myrtles grow near by, a grove
Of double­coloured berries. In their midst
There lies a grotto, formed maybe by art,
Maybe by nature, rather though by art,
Where Thetis used to come, naked, astride
Her bridled dolphin. There as she lay lapped
In sleep, Peleus surprised her and, his fond
Entreaties all repulsed, assaulted her,
Winding his two strong arms around her neck.
And had she not resorted to her arts
And changed her shape so often, he’d have gained

4
The end he dared. But first she was a bird ­
The bird he held; and then a sturdy tree ­ 
The tree he fastened on; her third shape was
A stripy tigress ­ Peleus, terrified,
Released his hold on her and let her go.
He prayed then to the sea­gods, offering wine
Poured on the water, smoke of incense, flesh
Of sheep, till Proteus from his briny deep
Said, ‘Peleus, you shall gain the bride you seek
If, while she’s sleeping in her rocky cave,
You catch her off guard and truss her tight
With ropes that won’t give way and, though she takes
A hundred spurious shapes, don’t be deceived
But grapple it, whatever it is, until
She forms again the shape she had before.’
So Proteus spoke and sank into the sea.
His wavelets washing over his last words.
The sun was setting and his chariot
Sloped to the western waves, when the fair child
Of Nereus sought the grotto and resumed
Her usual couch. Peleus had barely touched
Her lovely limbs before from shape to shape
She changed, until she felt her body trussed,
Her arms pinioned apart. And then at last,
Sighing, ‘With some god’s help,’ she said, ‘you’ve won.’
And there revealed stood… Thetis. Self confessed,
He held her, hopes triumphant, to his side
And filled with great Achilles his fair bride.

5
1. Now speculate on how Duffy might transform
the story.

2. Read her poem

6
The first six stanzas describe the forms Thetis adopts and the
way in which, in each form, she is pursued.

1. In pairs take one of the first six stanzas and explore the
associations and connotations of the forms both Thetis and her
captor adopt.

How does the style of the poem contribute to its meaning?

Does the rhythm and rhyme scheme work with the meaning
implied by the story or against it?
Do Duffy's choice of words confirm the opinion we form of Thetis
from her behaviour or does her choice of words cause you change
your mind?

7
THE FINAL STANZA

What is your view of the final stanza and its representation of birth and
motherhood?