Tragödientheorie und -praxis in Ovids Metamorphosen

Using Harrison's (2007) development of Kroll's (1924) theory of "generic enrichment" as its starting point, this project seeks to deepen our understanding of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Met.) as a multi-generic hybrid by studying its dramatic and especially tragic elements. In certain respects, it can build on earlier research on tragic elements in Ovid's elegaic poetry and in met. though a careful review of the literature reveals that even book-length studies on tragic interferences in Met. have primarily focused on individual case studies. A full study of the influences of tragedy and tragic theory on Ovid's long poem on transformations has not been attempted yet.
The project is going to provide answers on two main questions: (1) In what ways is the dramatic material that Ovid incroprates in his magnum opus shaped by the poem's epic form? (2) In what sense are Ovid's poetic choices in Met. informed by an underlying theory of tragedy? Before answers on the intricate questions can be attempted, it will be necessary to establish a typology of Ovid's treatment of tragic material. At this point, the following tentative categories may be proposed: (a) tragic material treated by tragic poets; (b) non-tragic material narrated in a way that evokes tragic material by intertextuality, certain stylistic choices, etc: (c) allusions to aspects of ancient tragic theory (as evidenced by Aristotle's Poetics and technical discussions in the scholia on Attic tragedy).
The project studies "generic enrichment" in Ovid's Metamorphoses by focusing on dramatical elements 'enriching' Ovid's epic hexameters. Since such an approach relies heavily on comparing texts and on studying how texts exert influence on one another, interpretation will be facilitated by applying intertextual theory.
Despite previous work done in the field, the contamination of epic and tragedy remains somewhat understudied. Researchers in the aspects highlighted above have mainly delivered isolated case-studies, whereas this project will expand our perspective by studying Met. in its entirety. It will treat episodes that have not yet been considered in terms of the proposed methodological framework. In addition, by analysing Ovid's reception of ancient drama theory it aims at laying bare the poetics that inform Met.'s tragic aspects, thus providing further evidence for the assumption that 'the tragedian' is an important part of Ovid's poetic persona.