Hughes offers here a masterful interpretation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; his savage, sensuous language and vivid imagery perfectly capture the tone of these dark tales of mortal (and immortal) cruelty and excess, while simultaneously infusing them with a contemporary flavour that makes the subject matter feel less like pure myth and more like a deeply uncomfortable but recognisable reality. His version of "Tereus", in particular, achieves its horrific climax with a disturbing blend of uncontrollable passion and cold calculation that gave me a literal chill down my spine. Full marks to Hughes for literary affect.

The poems were stunning and the imagery visceral and violently beautiful, but my god, so much rape and assault and unwarranted revenge. These gods behave like beasts (or like characters in a really disturbing soap opera). I had chosen to read this as my Breakfast Book, i.e. the book I read a little of every morning over my cereal. I thought it would be perfect due to the poetry format. But honestly, this was hectic content to be consumed between mouthfuls of orange juice. It made me immensely glad of the (mostly) civilised society I have had the fortune of being birthed into. Women, particularly, are mishandled and abused in these tales. By men in positions of supreme power, but also by other women (I'm looking at you Juno). A lot of these poems were devastating. But also extremely interesting historically/culturally. I found myself repeating the transformation stories such as that of Midas to others, as one might recite fairy tales. There is a craft in this sort of storytelling (despite the oftentimes horrific content) that is beguiling.

I can't give this book a star rating because it is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ book in some ways and a ⭐ book in others, and averaging out to 3 stars does not capture this juxtaposition of extremes.

Ovid is one of the greatest poets of all time, and Ted Hughes was one of the best poets of his generation. Put them together and you get a damn good collection of poetry. So many passages were overwhelmingly powerful. And Hughes's tight, short lines even mimicked some of Ovid's own terse bursts.

But Ovid's moral vision is so disturbingly cruel and sexually violent, and Ted Hughes takes things up a notch in a way that is frankly disgusting. The violence, already reprehensible in Ovid, becomes twice as disturbing in Hughes's translation, given the violence of his own life. It was a bit tormenting to read poetry that makes your heart soar and your stomach churn back-to-back.

So yeah... read at your own risk, but these poems are, in their own dark way, devastatingly beautiful

Whilst my university studies have included significant amounts of ancient Roman literature and history when it comes to Publius Ovidius Naso, or Ovid as he is more well known, I have not delved into his works as yet. I know about his banishment to Tomis for a poem and a mistake (carmen et error) by Augustus. I have a Penguin Classics edition of his love poetry, including the Ars Amatoria and 'Cures for Love' (Remedis Amoris), and next to it is the same publisher's 'Metamorphosis'. Hopefully I will read this work, and having now listened to Ted Hughes' amazing audio book of his 'Tales from Ovid', I have now every reason to do so.

Hughes' poetry is another unknown quantity for me however I am very much aware of his reputation (literary and otherwise) and 'Tales from Ovid' seemed to be a great entry point into two poets' works. Through the good offices of my local library I was able to access the audio book version and it was almost everything I could've hoped for. The selections are a combination of well known and not quite as celebrated myths from ancient Greece. Familiar tales such as that of King Midas, of the birth of Hercules and of Pyramis and Thisbe are complemented by the metamorphoses of Hermaphroditus, Myrrha and Cygnus. Each story, or perhaps more correctly each poem, is read out by Hughes' himself. His voice adds the expected gravitas for such significant item from one of the most important works of ancient literature. However Hughes' voice is not so important as the words; both his and Ovid's.

Without sitting down with a heavily annotated concordance of the Latin text with Hughes' translation alongside it is extremely hard to guess as to the accuracy of Hughes' version of Ovid's work. My almost non-existent Latin would not help me either. One has to assume that Hughes' is doing what he can to cleave to the two original aspects of Ovid's poetic language; the literal meaning and the figurative or subtext of Ovid's poetry. Plus, as a highly valued poet himself Hughes could not simply transcribe what Ovid wrote into English. He had to bring his own sensibilities to the work too. Thankfully it would appear that he did all this.

The language of 'Tales from Ovid' is redolent of passion, of mystery, of physicality and of humanity. Even the Gods and Goddesses that people the poems have all the emotional complexity of the mortals they encounter. They hate and love, feel pity and feel righteous rage with all the power that Ovid and Hughes can give them. The latter poet is incredibly effective in hitting almost every right tonal aspect of his text. Through the masterful use of figurative language and a deft hand at techniques such as alliteration it's hard not to become fixated on what Hughes says in each Ovidian translation.

It is hard to pick favourite poems from this collection however if one is to be pushed then my choice would be that of 'Echo and Narcissus'. It is the most heart-rending and piteous of all the metamorphoses included in this selection and this is undoubtedly because fo what Hughes is able to do with Ovid's original text. Other poems are also very evocative, such as that on 'Pyramis and Thisbe', 'Pygmalion' and 'Arachne'. As one encounters each of these mythic poems one finds it hard not to respond with your heart.

That this text is an audio book means that one benefits from what should always happen when encountering poetry, no matter whose work. The sound of the poems is key to engaging with them, and whilst this version of 'Tales from Ovid' lacks the written word it more than makes up for this with Hughes' intonations. Plus, there is no reason why one can't go find the written words, Hughes' or Ovid's, and read them silently to yourself.

The only drawback to this excellent volume is that it lacks the introduction by Ted Hughes that is included in the printed version. Thanks to the internet this can be found and read. It isn't crucial to the poems themselves or engaging with Hughes' or Ovid's work. However there is the added value of reading Hughes' thoughts on the importance of passion in the 'Metamorphoses', and this is abundantly clear when you move onto the poems.

In summary this is an excellent audio book version of what must be one of the most significant translations of ancient Latin poetry in the modern era. Each poems deserves attention and through the agency of this volume one gets the benefit of engaging with both Ovid and with Hughes. It is a wonderful poetic selection that deserves to be heard and rtead.