The Ovidian Bedroom (Ars amatoria 2.703–34): The Place of Sex in Ovidian Erotic Elegy and Erotodidactic Verse

Ingleheart, J.

Abstract

This article constitutes a close reading of the sex scene that closes Ovid, Ars amatoria 2, and an analysis of its contribution to Ovidian first-person erotic elegiac poetry. Lines 703–34 are read comparatively alongside parallel passages, including Amores 3.14 and the end of Ars 3. This study pays particular attention to narrative strategies, erotodidactic instruction, the Latin sexual vocabulary, and wider issues relating to Roman sexuality, including gender dynamics and powerplay. Ultimately, the article argues that this sex scene demonstrates the programmatic and generic importance of sex for Ovid’s first- person erotic elegy and erotodidactic elegies.

Citation

Ingleheart, J. (2021). The Ovidian Bedroom (Ars amatoria 2.703–34): The Place of Sex in Ovidian Erotic Elegy and Erotodidactic Verse. TAPA, 151(2), 295-333. https://doi.org/10.1353/apa.2021.0012

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 28, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 22, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 24, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 24, 2021
• Journal: TAPA
• Print ISSN: 2575-7199
• Electronic ISSN: 2575-7180
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 151
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 295-333
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/apa.2021.0012
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1250719
• Publisher URL: https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/tapa