Pyramus & Thisbe
The love that spoke through a crack in the wall
Two Babylonian neighbors forbidden to love by their families, who whisper through a crack in the wall; a tragic misunderstanding leads them to a double suicide, sixteen centuries before Romeo and Juliet.
01Why it matters
It is the direct mold of Romeo and Juliet; the mulberry's fruit turned red, the myth says, from their blood.
02The conflict
The families' prohibition and the wall between them.
03The iconic moment
Thisbe finding Pyramus dead beneath the mulberry tree.
04What survived
Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; parodied in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
05Frequently asked questions
Why is the story of Pyramus & Thisbe famous?
It is the direct mold of Romeo and Juliet; the mulberry's fruit turned red, the myth says, from their blood.
How does the story of Pyramus & Thisbe end?
Thisbe finding Pyramus dead beneath the mulberry tree. Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; parodied in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
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