This story is from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which Turner quoted when he exhibited the picture. The god Apollo has fallen in love with Daphne, but she tries to run away from him. Her father, the river Peneus, saves her by transforming her into a laurel on his banks.

Turner shows all these characters, but he also includes a dog chasing a hare. This is a reference to Ovid, who compares Apollo and Daphne to a dog and a hare.