Eurydice

Metamorphoses, 10 by Ovid (circa 8 CE)

To best understand any adaptation or retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, one should be familiar with one of its earliest renditions. Roman poet Ovid included the doomed romance in his multi-book narrative poem, Metamorphoses, which collects stories from the beginning of time up to Julius Caesar's death. Brookes More, a 20th century writer, translates Ovid's version into plain English, making it accessible.

“Eurydice” by H.D.

This is one of the most famous retellings of the Orpheus and Eurydice story through Eurydice's point of view. American poet Hilda Doolittle (H.D.) wrote "Eurydice" during World War I and the end of her marriage. The poem allows Eurydice to rage against her fate and Orpheus's failure. She wonders if Orpheus only ever saw her as an extension of and inspiration for himself. H.D. ends the poem with Eurydice declaring that no one can take away her personhood. The poem inspired a long tradition of female and LGBTQ+ artists, such as Vuong, using Eurydice and Orpheus as metaphors for their experiences. Unlike most retellings, Vuong and H.D. de-emphasize Orpheus's position as a poet and musician. Instead, they focus on highlighting their respective speakers' emotional turmoil and the injustice of their situations.

“Eurydice” by Carol Ann Duffy (1999)

Like Vuong, contemporary Scottish poet Carol Ann Duffy uses the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as a veil for the complexities of modern-day relationships. In her poem, Duffy explores a heterosexual relationship dynamic where the man (Orpheus) sees a woman (Eurydice) as an object they own rather than a whole person.

“Telemachus” by Ocean Vuong (2013)

Vuong used other Greek myths to reveal the silence and disconnect between people in his collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016). In the poem "Telemachus," Vuong refers to the character of Telemachus from The Odyssey, who waits for the father he never really knew, Odysseus, to return home from the Trojan War. Unlike in "Eurydice," the speaker inhabits the mythological role instead of co-existing with it. The silence in "Telemachus" lingers between a father and a son, rather than lovers.

“Seventh Circle of Earth” by Ocean Vuong (2016)

Also found in Night Sky with Exit Wounds, the poem “Seventh Circle of Earth” explores violence against LGBTQ+ couples. Vuong writes in the voice of either Michael Humphrey or Clayton Capshaw. Humphrey and Capshaw, a gay couple, were murdered in their home in 2011.