This study attempts a thorough analysis of the definition, nature, scope, functions and effects of the contrasts which Ovid employs. It examines six stories from the Metamorphoses for different types of contrast, ranging from occasional and immediate, rhetorical figures to farther-reaching contrasts of theme, character, tone and style. The text examines intertextual contrast, which is oriented toward the poet"s sources, and intratextual contrasts.