Edited Works
The Metamorphoses
The full Elizabethan text
Ovid, translated by Arthur Golding · edited by John Sandbach · Ovid · the Arthur Golding translation
This famous translation of The Metamorphoses is the one that was read by William Shakespeare. Arthur Golding was the uncle of Edward DeVere, the seventeenth earl of Oxford, which many believe was the true identity of Shakespeare, and many of Shakespeare’s stories and plots are taken from this book.
The poet Ezra Pound called Golding’s translation of Ovid the most beautiful book in the English language. Certainly the poetry of it is lush, lively, ornate, and far more Elizabethan than Roman. If you love vivid imagery and melodious poetry you will love this book.
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© 2026 John Sandbach.
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