Pyramus+and+Thisbe

Halley Gradus, Jennifer Iannello, Marissa Sariol-Clough

=__Pyramus and Thisbe!__= I. Summary: Pyramus and Thisbe are two star-crossed lovers lived in connected houses in the city of Babylon. Unfortunately, the lovers cannot be married because their parents are rivals. Through the crack in the wall separating them, they are able to express their love towards each other. They planned to meet under a tree in order to get married but Thisbe gets to the tree first and leaves when a lioness with a blood filled mouth arrives. Thisbe accidentily dropped her veil. So, when Pyramus arrives, he think the lions killed her and, therefore, kills himself. His blood splashes the leaves and the white fruit turns dark. Thisbe goes back to the tree to tell Pyramus what happened to her and when finding his dead body she kills herself as well. The gods saw the incident and forever turned the mulberry fruits dark in honor of the forbidden lovers.

II. Type of Myth: Curiosity/ Explanation

III. Purpose: The purpose of this myth is to explain why mulberry trees fruit have their color.

IV. Modern Connections: "In a Midst Summer's Night" Shakespeare makes reference to this story within his play. In addition, "Romeo and Juliet" is based of of Thisbe and Pyramus's forbidden love.