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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is Ovid born?

2. In relation to politics, what is Ovid good at?

3. When does Ovid marry for the first time?

4. In Amores 2:18, what does Ovid claim to be unable to do?

5. What does Ovid object to and says cools his passion?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the event that happens to cause Ovid to first offer an elegy and then scorn regarding the writing tablet?

2. What does Ovid hope to accomplish by telling the story of the river that falls in love with the wandering woman to the stream?

3. What does Ovid devote an entire poem to compare lovers to in Amores? Why are they similar?

4. When and where was Ovid born? Where and why did his parents move when he was young?

5. Explain the incident with Cypassis who is Corinna's lady maid.

6. Who is Macer and what is Ovid's relationship with him?

7. Why is Elegy lame and "short in one foot" in the beginning of Amores book 2?

8. What difference does Ovid and his father have about his career?

9. Does Ovid experience success as a statesman or a poet during his lifetime? Explain.

10. What is the nature of the relationship between Corinna and Ovid in Amores book 1? What is the major impediment that stands in their way?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ovid's banishment from Rome remains one of the great historical mysteries. There are many clues and theories about the details of his banishment and what caused it. Write an essay covering in detail the known facts in the situation and the various theories regarding the unknown parts of his banishment.

Part 1. What concrete information do we have about Ovid's banishment? What is the official reason given for it?

Part 2. What important information is not known regarding Ovid's banishment? How do we know we are missing something important?

Part 3. What theories exist about the reasons behind his banishment?

Part 4. Where is Ovid exiled to? How long does he stay there? What is it like for him? What are the sum affects of the banishment on Ovid?

Essay Topic 2

Assuming that Ovid has not created a persona for his poems, what is the nature of the man we get to know through his poems?

Part 1. Is it likely that Ovid was writing through a persona or that his poems are from personal experience?

Part 2. What is his character like in the poems? Does it evolve?

Part 3. What logical life history or situation can explain his changing nature?

Essay Topic 3

In the end of Amores Book 1, Ovid names several other authors as timeless and enduring. Write an essay about these other authors.

Part 1. Who are the authors that Ovid names? What do they do?

Part 2. Are these authors still well known?

Part 3. How does the fame of these authors compare to Ovid's?

(see the answer keys)

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