Ovid’s Poetics of Memory and Oblivion in his Exilic Poetry

In this paper I explore the role of memory and oblivion in Ovid’s Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto. I analyze Ovid’s language of memory and oblivion, I focus on what Ovid remembers or chooses to forget, and I investigate how his memories shape his exilic identity. Memory appears to be Ovid’s sole companion at Tomis, covering for the absence of his wife and his loved ones. It becomes a substitute for physical presence. Although Ovid is not allowed to live in Rome physically, his memory enables him to travel to Rome mentally. It is Ovid’s mental bridge and connection with his homeland, a surrogate for the senses arousing strong emotion for the poet’s precious faces and places. Through memory Ovid struggles to keep on living his previous life. Memory is a way for him to rebuild his familiar world and to create a haven among the inhospitable, dangerous and barbaric Tomitans

Aesthetics · Art · Homeland · Literature · Poetics · Poetry · Politics · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Law