Narrative Elements in “Pyramus and Thisbe”, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Question 7 • VT-FL-FAST-Grade 10 English Language Arts-Reading
Read the excerpts from Ovid’s Pyramus and Thisbe and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet."Pyramus and Thisbe"They had no confidant—and so used signs: with these each lover read the other's mind: when covered, fire acquires still more force.Romeo and JulietRomeo: [. . .] It is enough I may but call her mine.Friar Lawrence: These violent delights have violent endsAnd in their triumph die, like fire and powder,Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honeyIs loathsome in his own deliciousnessAnd in the taste confounds the appetite.Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so.Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.
Answer
A
Only Ovid suggests that romantic relationships encounter obstacles or objections.
B
Only Ovid shows his male character searching for a more suitable companion.
C
Only Shakespeare reveals a character’s doubts about his beloved.
D
Only Shakespeare shows a character warning against a doomed relationship.
Explanation
Friar Lawrence warns Romeo that intense love can end painfully: “These violent delights have violent ends,” and advises him to “love moderately.” This is a warning against a relationship that may be doomed by its intensity. Ovid’s excerpt describes how secrecy makes the lovers’ passion stronger, but it does not include a character warning them about the relationship.
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