Pyramus and Thisbe (Met. 4.55-166)

Two starcrossed teenaged lovers elope, only to perish in a series of misunderstandings and misfortunes.

Model play.

None that we know of.

Areas to explore.

Given that there is no dramatic model, how does Ovid infuse this episode with drama? To what extent is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet based upon this episode?

Bibliography.

• T. T. Duke, "Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe."
• C. Newlands, "The Simile of the Fractured Pipe in Ovid's Metamorphoses."
• B. Otis, Ovid as an Epic Poet.
• L. A. Perraud, "Amatores Exclusi."
• C. C. Rhorer, "Red and White in Ovid's Metamorphoses."
• N. Rudd, "Pyramus and Thisbe in Shakespeare and Ovid."