Structural Analysis of Ovid: Story of Narcissus
Literature can often be interpreted differently among various readers; ultimately the author has limited effect on how their writing is interpreted. The interpretation of some types of literature are debated more often than others. This is usually dependant on how a piece of literature can apply to different situations. Broad pieces of literature, such as mythology, can be interpreted in a variety of ways because these stories typically in relatively abstract terms try to explain why events occur or why humans have particular traits. An example of literature that can be interpreted unrestrictedly is that of Ovid’s analysis of transformations through mythology in his series of poems entitled Metamorphoses. One such poem, “The Story of Narcissus,” is written to capture some common themes of of life, and therefore can be interpreted many different ways. Through reading Ovid’s poetry and interpreting various aspects of it, one can see that literature can be interpreted in ways that go beyond the plotline. In addition, this type of literature can even show the culture of the writer and possibly the way they wanted their work to be interpreted.
As for most literature, the story of Narcissus can be interpreted simply by the sequence of the events and the unfolding of the plot, also known as proairetic interpretation. At the beginning of his story (which in Metamorphosis is continued from “The Transformation of Echo”), the character Narcissus is introduced as a very attractive, yet vain, boy who just turned sixteen. Narcissus begins walking through a forest with a nymph named Echo following closely behind him, Narcissus unbeknownst of this. As Narcissus walks through the wood Echo mimics every sound he makes, for she is only able to mimic other people’s sounds and not any sounds of her own. Finally Echo appears to Narcissus and embraces him. However, Narcissus is unmoved by Echo’s sign of affection, and Echo becomes heartbroken. Ovid then explained that Echo withdrew to secluded places such as “solitary caves” and “dark abodes” in her despair, eventually withering away so that only her echoing voice remained. Echo’s spirit prays that Narcissus may love like she did in vain. Soon, Narcissus becomes thirsty and encounters a pool of water, and upon looking in the pool he falls in love with his reflection. He remains at the pool of water staring at his reflection for a very long time, neglecting to sleep or eat. By the time he realized that the reflection was his own, he became mentally distressed and started to beat himself, and his mutilation resulted in him losing his youthful beauty and his attractiveness. Echo’s spirit found him in his misery and echoed his last sounds, saying "Ah youth! Beloved in vain” and “Farewell” after Narcissus says them in his dying breath. When the nymphs returned to his body to bury it, there was only a flower that grew from the spot, “a rising stalk, with yellow blossoms crowned.”
Connotations can be described as the understood meaning behind words or phrases, and how they are perceived by the interpreter. The mode of analysis that looks at connotations which can be proven in text is known as semic analysis. The entire story of Narcissus can be interpreted with themes that link it to how it applies to the real world. One such theme is “what goes around comes around”, especially regarding pain and suffering. Ever since his 16th birthday, Narcissus had shunned every youth that ever displayed intimate feelings for him. His cold heart had finally neglected Echo's feelings, who sought revenge through the goddess Nemesis. In turn he was finally heartbroken by his own looks when he saw his reflection in a pool of water. Just as Echo died a miserable and lonely death, Narcissus would also die at the hand of his own looks. Despite that this exact phrase “what goes around, comes around” was not known by Ovid when he wrote the story of Narcissus, the concept of revenge was familiar to Ovid. Desire for revenge is a universal trait in people that has been with humanity ever since the beginning; this connotation is simply a broad interpretation of how revenge blossoms from pain. There are several other connotations that can be observed from the story of Narcissus, another being that “looks can be deceiving.” Although Echo saw great beauty in Narcissus, she was hurt to find that he wanted nothing to do with her (or anybody else for that matter). His shallow personality certainly did not qualify as one of a desirable person, yet his appearance confused his admirers into viewing him in a favorable light. Interestingly, the Narcissus flower named after Narcissus may also follow this connotation, as although some parts of the plant are edible, the flower's bulb contains the poison lycorine. These bulbs can easily be confused with onions and have lead to accidental poisonings on several occasions (2).
The story of Narcissus can be further interpreted into hermeneutic means, which consists of interpreting parallels and suspension in literature. In the case of this story, the hermeneutic means of interpretation yields possibly the most information on how this story could be interpreted. This is because Ovid litters the poem with several cases of parallelism, and many of these are quite evident. However, Ovid also uses suspension frequently in the poem as well, to carry out the plotline in a dramatic manner. An example of this is Narcissus asking the woods why he is tormented by his image, inquiring in lines 47-50: “‘You trees,’ says he, ‘and thou surrounding grove, who oft have been the kindly scenes of love, tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye a youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I?’” Even though Narcissus knows that the woods will not respond back to him, Ovid uses this to show Narcissus’ confusion in his own words. In addition to suspension, hermeneutic interpretation highlights parallels in the story of Narcissus. One parallel in this story is Narcissus' looks. While Narcissus takes advantage of his looks through his life to accomplish whatever he wishes to accomplish, in the end his looks ultimately betray him and lead to his death. In another aspect, everyone falls under the spell of Narcissus' looks, until Narcissus ultimately falls in love with himself and "breaks the spell" with his admirers. There are other similarly distinct parallels in this story that are made known in text. For example, as Narcissus peers into the pool of water in the 4th stanza, Ovid notes of Narcissus' reflection mimicking everything he does, demonstrated in lines 69-70: “His eyes with pleasure on my face he keeps, he smiles my smiles, and when I weep he weeps.” Another example is in lines 67-68: "When e'er I stoop, he offers at a kiss, and when my arms I stretch, he stretches his." Ovid parallels Narcissus' every action to show that Narcissus is confused with how the reflection mimics everything that he does, not knowing that it is only a reflection and not another person. The character Echo also can be interpreted hermeneutically on several occasions simply because of her nature of echoing every sound she hears. An example of Ovid paralleling through Echo is in lines 119-120 where Echo repeats the sounds that Narcissus makes: "She answer'd sadly to the lover's moan, sigh'd back his sighs, and groan'd to ev'ry groan: 'Ah youth! belov'd in vain,' Narcissus cries; 'Ah youth! belov'd in vain,' the nymph replies." In this case, the parallels are not in context, but are in the text and dialogue.
There are various literary devices that appear in literature, but symbolism in particular can be used in the same way that these other methods have been used to interpret literature. Example of symbolism are seen many times in the story of Narcissus, in several different forms. The character Echo is a symbol of the phenomenon of an echo, which is a reflection of sound. The word "Echo" derived from this character, as she was punished by Hera for her loquacity and was therefore stripped of her ability to talk except for repeating what others said. There are other more subtle symbols that appear in Ovid's story of Narcissus. The deity that answers Echo's prayers is Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, who represents the resolution of this story, with Narcissus receiving a fate similar to that of Echo. Narcissus' name links in a peculiar manner to his character as well. Narcissus' story has lead to the development of the concept of narcissism, which can be defined as selfishness and conceit. It is seen as a psychological problem, which can hint to modern readers of Ovid's Metamorphoses that Ovid did intend to portray Narcissus as a protagonist in any way. In fact, his cold-heartedness and his actions in the story actually are more typical of an antagonist. This can be further supported by the conflict being resolved with Narcissus feeling the same grief that women and nymphs, such as Echo, vainly felt for him.
Referencing a work of literature can vary depending on when a work is analyzed relative to when it was produced. Over time, more literature will be produced that can reference back to the original work. Now, the story of narcissism can be referenced almost indefinitely in culture and humanity in general. Ovid was not the first person to write about the mythical character Narcissus; this story had been popular before Ovid, and was often a topic of poetry used to express deeper meanings of human nature. Various artists have visually depicted Narcissus and his story on multiple occasions, one of the most well known being Narcissus by Caravaggio (3). Various other poets attempted to depict the stories of Echo and Narcissus with other similar plots as well. In modern day culture, characters in movies and novels with narcissism are often antagonists and similarly meet unfortunate fates at the end of the plot. The story of Narcissus and narcissism in general is also seen occasionally in songs. An example of which is Bob Dylan’s song "License to Kill” (4).
Diagetics is another way of interpreting literature, which relies on grammatical elements (mood, tone, word order), regardless of the content of the literature. This can also be used in the story of Narcissus, with particular regards to wording. Through Ovid's choice of words and word order, it is clear that he plans on making the story of Narcissus a tragedy, starring a character with a major flaw that ultimately leads to his downfall. He uses similes and other literary tools to highlight events taking place in the story. For example, in lines 109-112, Ovid details Narcissus withering away to add drama and somberness to the story: "As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run, and trickle into drops before the sun; so melts the youth, and languishes away, his beauty withers, and his limbs decay". Ovid also details Narcissus' beauty by focusing on everything he does with pleasant descriptions. A valid example of this is in lines 102 to 106: "Then rends his garment off, and beats his breast: his naked bosom redden'd with the blow, in such a blush as purple clusters show, ere yet the sun's autumnal heats refine their sprightly juice, and mellow it to wine."Here he describes something as perverse as self-mutilation as beautiful in a way, as pleasant as wine being refined. The atmosphere is also described by Ovid in a way that indicated an intent for the reader to interpret this as a tragedy. After Narcissus confronts Echo, the setting switches to a forest described as “darksome”, synonymous to dismal or dark. However, the woods are also described further in lines 9-11: “Nor stain'd with falling leaves nor rising mud; untroubled by the breath of winds it rests, unsully'd by the touch of men or beasts.” This description suggests that the forests have not been perverted by humans or other creatures, and may possibly suggest that the fate that Narcissus would face in the woods would be based on divine interference. In other words, maybe Ovid is saying that Nemesis conjured this pool of water for Narcissus just so that he would face the vain feelings of love that his admirers faced.
Interpretation is a basic mental tool that people use to understand what something is saying. In the case of Ovid’s version of the Story of Narcissus, there are a variety of methods for interpreting the text and context behind the story. The reader must take into consideration that good writers do not just recount their ideas down into a working plotline. Usually they put careful consideration into their writing so that what they want to convey can be realistically understood. The Story of Narcissus is such a piece of complex literature; something that covers as much as mythology or religion as this story can be interpreted very broadly, and is usually appreciated for the various aspects of interpretation that have revealed what the author wishes to say about human nature.
Appendix:(n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2009, from Teleflora: http://www.teleflora.com/images/vendors/00005557/giftguides/meaning/daffodil.jpg
the Narcissus flower (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2009, from Light and Matter: http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/5op/ch02/figs/narcissus.jpg
"Narcissus" by Caravaggio (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2009, from SongLyrics.com: http://www.songlyrics.com/bob-dylan/license-to-kill-lyrics/
Ovid. (8 A.D.). The Story of Narcissus. In Metamorphoses (p. Book 3).
the Narcissus flower
"Narcissus" by Caravaggio
