BMCR 2004.10.21, Susanne Gippert, Joseph Addison's Ovid: An

Susanne Gippert, Joseph Addison's Ovid: An Adaptation of the
Metamorphoses in the Augustan Age of English Literature. Die Antike und
ihr Weiterleben, Band 5.  Remscheid:  Gardez! Verlag, 2003.  Pp. 304.
ISBN 3-89796-120-2.  EUR 33.00 (pb).

Reviewed by Garrett Jacobsen, Denison University (jacobsen@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Word count:  1131 words
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With the almost epic flood of scholarship on Ovid in recent years,
there is little surprise at the number of new translations of the
Metamorphoses (e.g. Martin, Raeburn, Simpson) swimming among the
scholarly treatises. Yet this flourishing of Ovidian inspiration is
hardly a new phenomenon, and while Ovid's self conscious irony and
serious delight in a reality defined by language may make him the
poster child of postmodern sensibilities, his poetry has been
captivating western culture on and off since at least the Renaissance
(see Sarah Annes Brown, The Metamorphosis of Ovid. Duckworth, 2003).
Therein lies the rub. For the popularity of Ovid depends on
translation, and readers of Ovid in English will be familiar with the
translator's apology for choices made and liberties taken. Like
Pygmalion, each translator creates an ideal Ovid, shaped by the
translator's own literary perspective and contemporary cultural
context. Thus, the question vexing translators as far back as Aulus
Gellius: to be literal or to be sensible?

Susanne Gippert's book on Joseph Addison's adaptations of stories from
Ovid's Metamorphoses provides an instructive and detailed commentary on
the specific methodological approach to translation chosen by this
early eighteenth century English author, adducing both Addison's own
critical analysis of Ovid and the literary sensibilities of the
Augustan age in English literature. While focusing on Ovid's reception
in the Augustan age, so named for both the political parallelism of
Charles II's expansion of imperial power at home and abroad and the
literary parallelism of an age of writers self-judged as achieving the
status of their Latin forebears if only for their prescriptive
classicism, Gippert nevertheless implicitly treats matters of style and
interpretation common to any translator's work. The apparent guiding
principle of "belle-infidele" (a sixteenth and seventeenth century
French emphasis on adaptation over verbal accuracy in translation) in
Addison's work illustrates perfectly what may be gained and what may be
lost in the translation of an ancient text into 'modern' parlance, and
Gippert's perceptive reading of both Addison and Ovid has much of value
for both scholar and laity.

Gippert begins her book with a short Introduction (pp. 9-42) in which
she succinctly examines the reception of Ovid in the context of the
Augustan age in English literature, especially eighteenth century
England, elaborating then on Addison's own general precepts of literary
criticism, and in particular his studied evaluation of Ovid. Here
Gippert sets out the rationale for her Commentary on Addison, the
central portion of the book, intending to rehabilitate his reputation
as a translator in terms of both the depth of his classical scholarship
and the success of his adaptation of Ovid, as well as to elucidate the
cultural and literary context of early eighteenth century England. She
contrasts the Elizabethan predilection for verbal accuracy (as
exemplified in Goldys and Sanding) with the Augustan preference for the
French concept of 'belle-infidele', this latter mode enabling Addison
to respond to traditional criticisms of Ovidian style and wit, as well
as his own concerns about Ovid's "wanton imaginations," by either gloss
or omission. In sum, Gippert establishes Addison's literary criticism
as the framework for understanding his translation of selected "fables"
from the Metamorphoses and as the guiding principle for the Commentary
to follow.

The primary substance of the book is Gippert's detailed thematic
Commentary (pp. 43-246) on four of Addison's translations from Ovid's
Metamorphoses: 'The Story of Phaeton', 'Europa's Rape', 'The
Transformation of Echo', and 'The Story of Narcissus'. Chosen for their
illustration of fundamental tenets of Addison's literary ideals and
criticism, these episodes epitomize perceived elements of Ovidian
style: sublimity, antithesis, and wit. Gippert provides an introductory
overview to each episode's commentary, indicating the dominant thematic
motif within the context of Addison's stated critical interpretation of
the particular story. She then analyses Addison's English text in
direct comparison with Ovid's Latin text, breaking down a story into
sections from two to fifteen lines, averaging about five lines at a
time. Her commentary is meticulous. Gippert's points are always
grounded in the evidence of close textual analysis of both the Latin
and the English, in standard commentaries on Ovid and Addison (as well
as Addison's own words on reading Ovid), in ancient and modern
criticism, and in comparative readings of classical and English
literature. It is not unusual for Gippert to cite the OED, the OLD,
comparative texts from Vergil to Dryden, and commentaries on Ovid and
Addison, in the analysis of a single section of text. The result is a
fascinating exegesis of both Ovid and Addison, instructive both in the
general methodology of translation and in the reception of a specific
author.

A very brief Conclusion ends the book (pp. 247-252) and offers a
helpful summation of Gippert's categorical points on Addison's
translations and literary criticism discussed in the Commentary. Here
Gippert underscores Addison's literary sensibilities as rooted in
Augustan England, including the use of the heroic couplet, ornamental
simplicity, personalization, and the suppression of erotic elements,
complementing his own individual aspirations for an "Ovid Improv'd." In
the final analysis for Gippert, the theoretical and critical
underpinnings of Addison's translations elevate him to favorable
attention with the far more celebrated Dryden and Pope, and his
adaptive manner of translation in the belle-infidele tradition of
French literature invites fair comparison to the late twentieth century
efforts of Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes.

Susanne Gippert has produced a book of great value for readers and
scholars of Classical and English literature; however, a thorough
knowledge of Latin and a more than passing acquaintance with Ovid's
Metamorphoses are necessary conditions for a nuanced understanding of
her Commentary. An Appendix of Addison's complete text of the selected
translations, each followed by the original texts in Latin, is
helpfully included, although one may wish for the English and Latin to
be rather on facing pages (as in Loeb editions) for easier comparative
analysis in reference to the Commentary. The Bibliography is sound, if
a bit dated, on both Ovid and Addison; there is very little reference
to secondary literature published less than ten years ago, although her
reliance on the commentaries of Bomer and Anderson for reading Ovid
cannot be faulted.

This intriguing study of Addison's adaptation of Ovid under the
literary and cultural influence of Augustan England deserves a place in
the library of any academic institution, if not on the bookshelf of any
scholar or would-be translator of Ovid. Such a cogent and detailed
examination of this reception of Ovid illuminates not only the
particulars of Addison's neo-classical critique of Ovidian wit and
style but also the universal relationship between translator and text.
Susanne Gippert may not intend to answer the question of how Ovid is
best translated, but she makes a valuable contribution to understanding
how Ovid undergoes a metamorphosis whenever translator meets text and
chooses between sense and sensibility.