Pyramus And Thisbe Romeo And Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most told love stories of all time. Many people believe the story to be original, but Shakespeare often based his plays on existing stories, and Romeo and Juliet is no exception. This play is based on many different conceptions of the Greek myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, two star-crossed lovers who are forbidden from being together. Each story ends in tragedy, with both pairs dying due to miscommunication or wrong conclusions. Shakespeare took many liberties with the story. The characters are no longer Greek and in an ancient Greek city. There are several more characters than just the main two. Ovid’s story aims to explain aspects of the known world, while Shakespeare aims to entertain audiences. Shakespeare
The two would have been married, except their parents did not allow it. There was a wall, with a chink in it, between the houses, which Pyramus and Thisbe used to talk through. One day, the pair decided to leave the city together, planning to meet at Ninus’ Tomb where a mulberry tree stood, which is described as having white berries. When night came, Thisbe was able to sneak out of her house and wait by the mulberry tree. As she waited, Thisbe saw a lioness that had just killed some cattle, coming towards where she waited. In fear, she ran towards a cave for protection, dropping her veil in the process. The lioness grabbed the veil and tore it to shreds. Pyramus appears, seeing the lioness with Thisbe’s veil and believes that Thisbe is dead. Pyramus takes his sword and stabs himself, his blood squirting from his body, staining the berries on the tree a dark red. Thisbe comes out from her hiding spot to see Pyramus dying. Immediately, Thisbe understands what had happened and prays before taking Pyramus’ sword and stabbing her sword. The gods heard her prayer and made the berries of the mulberry tree turn red when they are ripe (Ov. Met. 4.55-169). Like many Greek myths, Pyramus and Thisbe tells an intricate story while also providing details about the known world. The story explains why the berries on a mulberry tree are
Several accounts of the Pyramus and Thisbe were popular during Shakespeare’s lifetime. There are indications that Shakespeare was referencing Golding’s translation of Ovid, at least for the last scene of the play (Muir 141). Poems such as A Handful of Pleasant Delites by J. Thomson and The Gorgeous Gallery of Gallant Inventions were circulating throughout the world (Muir 142). Shakespeare was probably familiar with Chaucer’s work, especially since he used the Knight’s Tale in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Muir 142-143). However, it appears that Shakespeare borrowed mostly from Thomas Mouffet’s poem, The Silkworms and their Flies. Margaret L. Farrand first made the suggestion that Shakespeare was using the poem as his primary source in 1930. There are issues with this theory because The Silkworms and their Flies was published after Shakespeare composed his other play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which references the Pyramus and Thisbe myth, indicating Shakespeare was already familiar with the story (Duncan-Jones 296). Mouffet’s poem was published in 1599, but there are several indications that Mouffet wrote the poem previously and allowed Shakespeare to read the manuscript. The poem is dedicated to the Countess of Pembroke and invokes the Sydneian Muse, which fits better in 1594.