Metamorphosis
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'''Metamorphosis''' is a [[biological process]] by which an [[animal]] physically [[developmental biology|develops]] after [[birth]] or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's form or structure. Some [[insect]]s as well as other species undergo metamorphosis, which is usually (but not always) accompanied by a change of [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] or [[behaviour]]. | '''Metamorphosis''' is a [[biological process]] by which an [[animal]] physically [[developmental biology|develops]] after [[birth]] or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's form or structure. Some [[insect]]s as well as other species undergo metamorphosis, which is usually (but not always) accompanied by a change of [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] or [[behaviour]]. | ||
- | == In mythology == | ||
- | :As gathered by [[Edith Hamilton]], in her book ''[[Mythology (book)|Mythology]]'' introduces the following characters as a handful of those going under metamorphosis: [[Arcas]], [[Dioscouri]], [[Orion]], [[Philemon and Baucis]], [[daphne]], [[Heliades]], [[Myrrha]], [[Adonis]], [[Hyacinthus]], [[Narcissus]], [[Actaeon]], [[lycaon]], [[Midas]], [[Battus]], [[Anaxarete]], [[Cycnus]], [[perdix]], [[Cadmus and Harmonia]], [[Tithonus]], [[Alcyone]], [[Arethusa]], [[Atalanta and melanion]], [[Cephalus]], [[Ceyx]], [[Clytie]], [[Daphne]], [[Glaucus and Scylla]], [[Hephaestus]], [[Lichas]], [[Leucippus]], [[Laius]], [[Lycius]], [[Melanippe]], [[Munichus]], [[Menippe]], [[Minthe]], [[Neophron]], [[Nemesis]], [[Oenoe]], [[Pandareus]], [[Periclymenus]], [[Philyra]], [[phineus]], [[Polyphonte]], [[Philomela]], [[polytechnos]], [[Alope]], [[Ambrosia]], [[Theophane]], [[Vertumnus]] and [[Zagreus]]. | ||
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== Metamorphosis as a trope == | == Metamorphosis as a trope == | ||
- | ''Metamorphoses'' of any kind have been popular since Ovid's ''[[Metamorphoses]]''. Metamorphosis is a frequently used [[horror trope]] which can take many forms: crosses between humans and plants, objects and humans, etc… | + | ''Metamorphoses'' of any kind have been popular since [[Circe]] in ''[[Odysseus]]'' and Ovid's ''[[Metamorphoses]]''. Metamorphosis is a frequently used [[horror trope]] which can take many forms: crosses between humans and plants, objects and humans, etc… |
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+ | [[Edith Hamilton]] gathered numerous examples of metamorphoses in her book ''[[Mythology (book)|Mythology]]'' (1942). | ||
A particular variety of metamorphosis is people turned into furniture. Two stories in which humans transform into [[chair]]s make use of this plot device: the French libertine novel ''[[The Sofa]]'' (1742) by [[Crébillon fils]] and the Japanese short story ''[[The Human Chair]]'' (1925) by [[Edogawa Rampo]]. In both stories a man becomes a sofa, in the former quite literally so (by a curse), in the latter, a man hides in sofa to feel the persons who sit in him. | A particular variety of metamorphosis is people turned into furniture. Two stories in which humans transform into [[chair]]s make use of this plot device: the French libertine novel ''[[The Sofa]]'' (1742) by [[Crébillon fils]] and the Japanese short story ''[[The Human Chair]]'' (1925) by [[Edogawa Rampo]]. In both stories a man becomes a sofa, in the former quite literally so (by a curse), in the latter, a man hides in sofa to feel the persons who sit in him. |
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Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's form or structure. Some insects as well as other species undergo metamorphosis, which is usually (but not always) accompanied by a change of habitat or behaviour.
Metamorphosis as a trope
Metamorphoses of any kind have been popular since Circe in Odysseus and Ovid's Metamorphoses. Metamorphosis is a frequently used horror trope which can take many forms: crosses between humans and plants, objects and humans, etc…
Edith Hamilton gathered numerous examples of metamorphoses in her book Mythology (1942).
A particular variety of metamorphosis is people turned into furniture. Two stories in which humans transform into chairs make use of this plot device: the French libertine novel The Sofa (1742) by Crébillon fils and the Japanese short story The Human Chair (1925) by Edogawa Rampo. In both stories a man becomes a sofa, in the former quite literally so (by a curse), in the latter, a man hides in sofa to feel the persons who sit in him.
The archetypical metamorphosis story is The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in which a man wakes up to find himself transformed into a vermin.
In cinema it has remained a popular trope, for example in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) by Roger Corman a plant becomes a carnivore, and after it has eaten a number of people, the last buds of the plant open and reveal the faces of the people it has eaten.
See also
- Shapeshifting
- Transmogrification
- Metamorphoses
- Pygmalion (mythology)
- The Metamorphosis by Kafka
- List of films about possessed or sentient inanimate objects
- Machiavelli's Golden Ass
- Developmental biology
- Direct development
- Gosner stage
- Hypermetamorphosis
- Morphogenesis