Tristia 1 and the Incompleteness of Ovid's Exile Poetry

Abstract

This paper argues that the contrast between ostensible closure and foreseeable continuation is a crucial feature of Ovid’s first exilic book. More broadly, the exiled poet’s longing for the end of his punishment is more and more challenged by the emperor’s alleged unwillingness to recall him – which forces Ovid’s Tomitan carmen to keep on going, thus making it ultimately incomplete.