The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe
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| Thisbe by John William Waterhouse: thanks to Wikipedia |
Author: Not known
Publisher: Not known
Source book: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
In fact the story of Pyramus and Thisbe was originally written by Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, published in 8 AD. But it’s a story set in Babylon. And there’s a lot more to the story than meets the eye. Including a version featuring The Beatles.
Pyramus and Thisbe are forced to communicate through a crack in a wall because their parents are rivals and don’t want them to meet or marry. Just like Romeo and Juliet they come to a tragic end.
In the play within Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the mechanicals (eg not the posh folks) enact the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. They create the crack in the wall with their fingers. I expect you can do this if the wall is made of wattle and daub or mud brick.
There is also a Pyramus and Thisbe opera featuring a singing wall.
Although Pyramus and Thisbe is a play within A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it does appear to exist in its own right. However, in Shakespeare’s play, it is presented as a fictional story.
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| Mosaic of Pyramus and Thisbe in Paphos in Cyprus: thanks to Wikipedia |
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