Art of Love by Ovid

First transcribed:Ars amatoria, c. 2 b.c.e. (English translation, 1612)

Type of work: Poetry

The Poem:

The poet-narrator says that Art of Love is a set of entertaining and lighthearted instructions for successfully undertaking the game of love. Seduction rather than deep emotional attachment or marriage, the narrator says, is the poem’s theme.

Rome is full of beautiful young women, so, the narrator says, one looking for love need only go where the women are. The narrator indicates that the likeliest places to meet potential lovers are temples, law courts, the forum, the theater, the races, the public baths, and dinner parties. Timing is important. Beware of occasions on which clever women will demand gifts. Once found, the woman must be enticed to look favorably on the lover.

Be confident, the narrator says, for all women want to be loved. Even if they do not want a lover, they will appreciate attention. Win over the lady’s maid to advance your cause. A man should seduce the maid first, if he thinks doing so may help. He should write many letters promising his beloved anything. He should plead eloquently and persist through constant refusals. The narrator next offers advice on personal hygiene and fashion in dress. He tells of the usefulness of wine in warming hearts, and he explains how to handle a lady’s husband. Weeping and pallor may gain a lady’s pity, but timidity will never gain her favor. The man must take the initiative, and the woman will be glad of an excuse to give in. In short, a man should be adaptable and quick to seize any opportunity to win favor.

The narrator gives advice for holding a woman’s love once it is won. Magic spells and potions will not work. To be loved, a man must be lovable. Physical beauty is good, but it fades in time. The mind and spirit must be cultivated. He advises lovers to learn tact, tolerance, gentleness, eloquence, and humility. Never fight with a woman, for making up requires expensive gifts. Bear with her rages and unreasonableness. Let her win at games. Share her opinions and do all possible services for her. If a woman is ill, a man should be constantly in attendance.

A man should praise a woman elaborately and constantly. He should not let her find out about his other mistresses, unless he does so deliberately to make her jealous. If he knows she has other lovers, he should pretend not to know. He should not behave like a jealous husband. Never call attention to her imperfections or her age. Finally, a man should learn the proper techniques in bed so that both partners may have the maximum of pleasure. The narrator acknowledges that women also deserve some instruction in the art of love. He advises young women to taste love’s delights now, before they grow too old to be desired by lovers.

The narrator offers detailed advice about improving one’s appearance and dress and how to enhance one’s basic type. He also discusses cleanliness and cosmetics. A woman must learn to laugh, walk, talk, dance, and sing gracefully, play games well (but not too well), study some literature, and develop an even and pleasing temper. Women should make themselves available to lovers by appearing in public places frequently. Beware of false or mercenary men, and do not believe everything a man says. Cultivate each man for his own particular talents and be especially pleasant to poets, for they can make a woman immortal in their verse.

A woman should not make it too easy for her lover, and should learn how to deceive her husband when necessary. She should not be violently jealous. She should make elaborate vows of love. Women, too, must learn to make love. Feign ecstasy, the narrator tells women, even if you do not feel it. Be subtle and mysterious and desirable.

Bibliography

Gibson, Roy, Steven Green, and Alison Sharrock, eds. The Art of Love: Bimillennial Essays on Ovid’s “Ars amatoria” and “Remedia amoris.” New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Ovid scholars provide differing interpretations of his didactic love poems, analyzing their poetic, erotic, and political elements and describing the ancient, medieval, and modern reception of the two works.

Hardie, Philip. The Cambridge Companion to Ovid. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Collection of essays examining the historical contexts of Ovid’s works, their reception, and the themes and literary techniques of his poetry. Numerous references to Art of Love are listed in the index.

Mack, Sara. Ovid. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988. A survey of Ovid’s literary career, with a lengthy chapter on the love poetry. Asserts that Ovid creates a foolish speaker who uses his folly as a satire on Augustan values. Regards Art of Love as an assertion of poetic independence.

Myerowitz, Molly. Ovid’s Games of Love. Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, 1985. Discusses how love, like art, balances emotion and reason: Neither is natural, and both are influenced by conventions. Love is a paradigm for the process of human culture, which liberates through a celebration of play but is constantly threatened by forces of nature.

Sharrock, Alison. Seduction and Repetition in Ovid’s “Ars Amatoria” 2. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Connects the arts of love and poetry. Demonstrates that Ovid shows how one keeps the interest of the beloved and the reader. Examines Ovid’s attitudes toward art and audience.