War of the Words: Author Assertion and Reader Response in Ovid

Abstract

The focus of this paper is the relationship between Ovid and his readers wherein each side vies for supremacy as the arbiter of the text and the chief interpreter of textual meaning. Through various rhetorical devices, Ovid exercises a type of control upon his readers, thus asserting primacy as the writer of the text. On the other hand, if the reader claims hermeneutical power, the result is a clash between author and reader; one notable instance of this is found in Augustus as reader of Ovid. This paper explores the typically Ovidian modes of reader control, and also presents thoughts regarding the effects of a non-compliant readership.