Orpheus And Eurydice

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Orpheus and Eurydice When reading you always want a story that keeps your attention and is suspenseful. This anticipation is what separates Ovid’s account from Vergil’s. Ovid’s version of Orpheus and Eurydice differs from Vergil’s account because his use of detail and his tone create a more realistic and thrilling view. Ovid goes into more detail which creates a more dramatic effect. Vergil uses less detail and creates a more serious tone. Vergils’ account also seems to be less realistic than Ovid’s. A major difference between the accounts of Ovid and Vergil are the views that they create for the story. Ovid’s account is more realistic, he uses more description and tells the story straightforward adding his own creative affect. An example of Ovid’s more realistic tone compared to Vergil’s fabricated and impractical tone occurs when Orpheus is bringing Eurydice back to earth and the reasons for which he turns around and looks at her. His use of commas and semicolons create a dramatic effect that leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen next. Ovid uses sensible reasons for why Orpheus turns around; Orpheus is described as fearing and he is also longing to see her. Both of these emotions are real and to some extent understandable. Nec procul afuerant telluris margine summae; hic, ne deficeret metuens avidusque videndi, flexit amans oculos.(55) They had not been far off from the top of the earth, here, fearing that she had collapsed and eager of seeing, the lover turns back his eyes. Vergil’s account conversely says that a sudden madness seizes Orpheus and this is what causes him to turn around. This is not only unrealistic but does not allow us to take the story seriously. Vergil does not incorporate the emotions that Orpheus is feeling and creates a more idealistic view. Cum subito incautum dementia cepit amantem,
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