Shakespeare’s Library - School Books
#2 Ovid, Selected Works (1502)
Ovid was the most important literary influence on Shakespeare, especially early in his career, and he was widely identified as an Ovidian poet by his contemporaries. This volume includes several of Ovid’s scandalous, erotic works, including De Arte Amandi (“The Art of Love”) and De Remedia Amoris (“The Cure of Love”). The title includes Ovid’s full name, Publius Ovidius Naso (“Naso” means “big nose,” and reflects the most distinctive physical feature of the poet). This book was printed by the Venetian scholar-printer Aldus Manutius, who was famous for publishing convenient, small-format editions of classical works. This copy was annotated in both brown and red ink by a sixteenth-century reader.
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