A Stylometric Reassessment of the (Pseudo?) Ovidian Nux

Abstract:This article reproposes that the elegy known as the Nux is a genuinely Ovidian poem, written during Ovid’s relegation in the early first century CE. The poem’s current status as a pseudo-Ovid rests more on the lack of conclusive authentication than on positive evidence: this study provides new stylometric analysis which argues for a reconsideration of the text as genuine. We situate the Nux in Ovid’s exile, before reassessing its authorship using stylometric analysis. Our analysis strongly suggests Ovidian authorship, and, further, demonstrates that the analysis can competently detect imitation. We consider the implications of accepting the Nux as genuine.