The Pedant’s Curse: Obscurity and Identity in Ovid’s Ibis

Abstract

This paper investigates the extended catalogue of curses in Ovid’s Ibis, in particular the catalogue's literary significance and the reasons and methods behind Ovid's organizing principles and choice of themes. I demonstrate how the Ibis plays with presenting itself in the manner of mythographic texts while exploiting the polyvalency of the mythic tradition’s inherent mutability and syncretism. I also discuss how major themes of the poem, such as a prevalent emphasis on names and their suppression, and an identification of the poetic corpus with the poet’s own body, echo the thematic concerns of Ovid’s other exile poetry. Finally, I argue for identifying Ovid’s pseudonymous enemy “Ibis” with the Muses, whose “love/hate” relationship with Ovid is clearly expressed in the exile poetry.

Keywords

• catalogue poetry
• curse poetry
• elegy
• exile
• Ibis
• identity