Adaptations run the gamut from action-packed superhero movies to cover songs of classic rock tunes to centuries-old plays set in modern times. Taking an original work and transforming it to comment on issues of the day or adapting characters and settings to modern times is almost as old as art and storytelling itself.
One of the most influential figures to inspire later artistic adaptation is the Roman poet Ovid, who took well-known ancient myths and transformed them for the urban, multi-cultural world of his day. Ovid was an immensely popular poet who lived during the reign of the first Roman emperor Augustus. His most famous work was “Metamorphoses,” which means “Books of Transformations.”
The classic work chronicles the creation and history of the world through circular tales within tales, told by multiple narrators. In “Metamorphoses,” he turned established epics on their heads, giving minor characters in mythology leading roles and using myths about the gods to explore human trauma, violence and love.
A new collection edited by USF St. Petersburg English Professor Lisa Starks looks at how one of the most important artistic adapters was himself adapted. “Ovid and Adaptation in Early Modern English Theatre” is a collection of essays from various scholars focused on how famous playwrights such as Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe adapted Ovid for their time.
“Just as Ovid adapted Greek myths for the Romans he was writing to, so were these playwrights adapting Ovid for their own purposes and audiences,” said Starks. “They would take stories and myths people already knew and put their own take and artistry to it, which opened up new ways of seeing and understanding these age-old stories.”
Starks is a Shakespearean and early modern British literature scholar whose main research interests include Shakespearean adaptations and cinema studies. In her research, Starks kept coming across Ovid and his immense influence on the writers of this time period, which eventually led to the idea for this collection.
“The early English modern poets were really drawn to Ovid because of his creativity. He showed what literature and poems could become, so both the content he developed and methods he used really influenced these writers,” she said.
Chapters in the collection include Shakespeare’s adaptations of Ovid and the varying roles of Ovid in English Renaissance drama, where he was used as a symbol for lovesickness, change and violence.
As the editor of the publication, Starks’ challenge was to ensure cohesiveness, so that a common thread flowed through each of the individual submissions.
“Writers have their own style and voice, and you want that to come through. But as the editor, you need to ensure the collection all fits together, that the theme flows through the collection,” she said.
Starks’ fascination with this period began as a little girl. Growing up in Detroit, she went to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, which is North America’s largest classical theatre company, and saw a production of Hamlet. She was already into theatre. Shakespeare pushed her over the edge.
This experience led her into a career interest with both Shakespeare’s texts and how they were incorporated into performance and adapted in cinema. Or, as Starks says, merging English and theatre.
Though Ovid is more than 2,000 years old and Shakespeare and the early modern English playwrights are more than 400 years old, many of their works are still being adapted today. Starks attributes this phenomenon to how rich these classical stories are for artists who want to add their own interpretations, while still resonating and holding an emotional connection with modern audiences.
“They engage you in such a strong emotional experience, both the highs and lows,” said Starks. “Because these plays have been so adapted and part of our popular culture, they interact with us on so many levels. And there is so much richness there for artists who adapt these into stage or film and produce the art that they want.”
“Ovid and Adaptation in Early Modern English Theatre” will be published this month by Edinburgh University Press.