The Separation of Pyramus and Thisbe – and of Their Names (Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.55–166)

Abstract

Ovid’s placement of the names Pyramus and Thisbe reflects these characters’ failed desire for physical union. The only time their names are next to each other is when the lovers are sitting at their wall; otherwise, the closest they get is as the “title” of the story in its first line. This play with the position of their names throughout the story reflects how tantalizingly close the two people come to being together and adds to the pathos of this failed attempt at union. A final play on the name Thisbe, however, may suggest their ultimate union in death.