Narrative Elements in "Pyramus and Thisbe", from Ovid's Metamorphoses

Read the poem. Friends crouched low Without words Before she came. Stifled giggles Hushed and shushed And waited. Finally, the door swung wide Surprise! Which words create an order of events in the poem?

"before" and "finally"

Read the poem. The house was silent The sky was dim Until slim rays Stretched high Then morning arrived Fluttering heavy lids And opening eyes. Which words create an order of events in the poem?

"until" and "then"

Which lines from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" contain an example of characterization?

If you searched all the East, you'd find no girl with greater charm than Thisbe;

Read the excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe". And may you, mulberry, whose boughs now shade one wretched body and will soon shade two, forever bear these darkly colored fruits as signs of our sad end What statement best describes the use of poetic elements in the excerpt?

A tree is given symbolic meaning.

Read the excerpts from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "Pyramus and Thisbe" "Now this same night will see two lovers lose their lives: she was the one more worthy of long life: it's I who bear the guilt for this. O my poor girl, it's I who led you to your death; I said you were to reach this fearful place by night; I let you be the first who would arrive. O all you lions with your lairs beneath this cliff, come now, and with your fierce jaws feast upon my wretched guts! But cowards talk as I do—longing for their death but not prepared to act." At that he gathered up the bloody tatters of his Thisbe's shawl and set them underneath the shady tree where he and she had planned to meet. He wept and cried out as he held that dear shawl fast: "Now drink from my blood, too!" And then he drew his dagger from his belt and thrust it hard into his guts. Romeo and Juliet Romeo: O my love! my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty: Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death's pale flag is not advanced there. Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet? O, what more favour can I do to thee, Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain To sunder his that was thine enemy? Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; And never from this palace of dim night Depart again: here, here will I remain With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here Will I set up my everlasting rest, And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! Here's to my love! [Drinks.] O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Dies.] Which statement best describes the similarity between these excerpts?

Both men give dying tributes to the women they love.

Read the excerpt from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Gregory: Say better; here comes one of my master's kinsmen. Sampson: Yes, better, sir. Abraham: You lie. Sampson: Draw, if you be men.--Gregory, remember thy swashing blow. [They fight.] [Enter BENVOLIO.] Benvolio: Part, fools! put up your swords; you know not what you do. [Beats down their swords.] How is the setting of the excerpt similar to the setting of Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe"?

Both take place in time periods in which men carry weapons.

Read the excerpt from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Juliet: Ay me! Romeo: She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art As glorious to this night, being o'er my head As is a winged messenger of heaven Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds And sails upon the bosom of the air. How are the writing styles of Romeo and Juliet and Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" similar?

Both use figurative language.

Which line(s) from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" reveal a plot detail?

Delighted with their plan—impatiently— they waited for the close of day.

Read the excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe". Lest each lose the other as they wandered separately across the open fields, they were to meet at Ninus' tomb and hide beneath a tree in darkness; for beside that tomb there stood a tall mulberry close to a cool spring, a tree well weighted down with snow-white berries. What story element is developed in the excerpt?

NOT [a plot complication]

Read the excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe". Now the girl again seeks out the tree: though trembling still, she would not fail his tryst; with eyes and soul she looks for Pyramus; she wants to tell her lover how she had escaped such perils. She finds the place—the tree's familiar shape; but seeing all the berries' color changed, she is not sure. Ovid creates a tense situation, as Thisbe does not realize that

Pyramus is dying

Read the excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe". The blood leaped high; it spouted like a broken leaden pipe that, through a slender hole where it is worn, sends out a long and hissing stream as jets of water cleave the air. Which statement best describes the use of poetic elements in the excerpt?

The figurative language describes the violence of the scene.

Which lines from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" establish setting?

The house of Pyramus and that of Thisbe stood side by side within the mighty city

Read the excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe". Theirs did—indeed they wanted to be wed, but marriage was forbidden by their parents; yet there's one thing that parents can't prevent: the flame of love that burned in both of them. What story element is most evident in the excerpt?

an introduction of theme

Read the paragraph. Jenna hoisted her backpack and hustled toward her locker. She fidgeted her foot while twirling the familiar numbers, silently reciting the properties of matter she expected to see on her science test. With a hasty stuff-and-switch maneuver, she grabbed the notebook needed for her first class. Which words reveal the pace of the story? Check all that apply.

hustled fidgeted hasty

Which type of writing best completes the chart?

play in poetic form