Week 3 Story : Pyramus and Thisbe

Pyramus and Thisbe were youths born of the same prestige. Each grew lovelier by the day, each was brilliant in both character and appearance, each was highly sought after by the young men and women of the town. In their mind and in their hearts, they knew they existence was made for one another. And yet their parents would not recognize the fire burning between them, which only made it burn more brightly. In secret, their love grew stronger, one would think this union was created by Aphrodite herself. Their days were filled with longing for the whispers and glances they might steal. Quite quickly, however, these moments could no longer satiate their emotions. In a hurried exchange, the two lovers agreed to meet beneath the tallest mulberry tree before departing to a northern city together.






Thisbe, gripped by the courage that only love can inspire, slipped out of her house for the final time, whispering a goodbye to her parents. Veiled, she sat beneath the tree waiting for her lover. Her passion could not shield her from all terrors, and slowly she became aware of the rustling of the bushes surrounding her. A lioness back from her hunt emerged, warm blood staining her mighty jaws and paws. Terrified, Thisbe retreated to the shadows of the trees, leaving her veil to the mercy of the beast. The lioness entertained herself briefly with the fabric, tearing it and staining it with the blood still fresh from the kill. Eventually, the she-beast became board and abandoned the veil, retreating home to her cave.






Pyramus, who had left a bit later, saw the mighty paw prints in the dust and went pale. With great haste, he reached the mulberry tree only to find the remains of Thisbe’s now bloodied veil. Few others have ever felt as strongly as Pyramus did in that moment. Blood roared in his ears and with a strangled cry, he sunk to his knees. Tears streaming down his face, Pyramus clutched the bloody veil and cursed the gods with every fiber of his soul. Unable to stay in the place where his beloved perished, Pyramus gathered himself and retreated to the shadows clutching Thisbe’s veil. Unable to return to the village where his memories of Thisbe reside, nor go to their intended destination for a future he can no longer imagine, Pyramus began wandering south downriver.






Shortly after, Thisbe emerged from her hiding place in the woods and returned to the mulberry tree. All night she waited, and then the next day, the day after, and the day after that. Unable to believe she had been abandoned, Thisbe visited the river to refresh herself. There, she met a traveler who quickly attempted conversation with the sad and beautiful youth, the second he had seen in the past few days. The traveler recounted his encounter with a man who fit the description of Pyramus and told Thisbe how this man had vowed to travel following the river for the remainder of his life, feeling guilty for a crime he did not disclose and punishing himself with a life of unrest.






Filled with new hope knowing she wasn’t abandoned, Thisbe gathered herself and began travelling upriver, for the traveler did not think to mention that Pyramus was travelling south downriver. For years, they widened the distance between them. Everyday, Pyramus relived the guilt of causing his lover’s death and wept for Thisbe’s soul. Thisbe grew weary over the years, her hope diminishing but never extinguishing, and she continued. And so, these lovers whose existence were made for each other wandered.











(Pyramus and Thisbe by Frans Francken I; source)






The Metamorphoses, Ovid, Translated by Tony Kline. Web Source.






Author's Note: The tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe has inspired many other well known works, such as A Midsummer's Night Dream and Romeo and Juliet. I kept the characters and general background the same as the original, focusing on the ending and fate of the two characters. The concept is well-known and often retold: two star-crossed lovers are trying to be together against opposing families, during a secret meeting, the male mistakenly believes the female has died and he takes his own life, only to die in the arms of his lover before she follows him in death. Their deaths are the result of them being unable to live without the other; the only thing I could think of that would be more heart wrenching is if they had to live apart. I personally am more impacted by sad endings than the classic happily-ever-afters, which is why I chose to retell this story. I hope it was enjoyable!


Bonus: While trying to think of how to write the hidden emotions and secret signals the lovers send to one another, I was inspired by the song We Kiss in a Shadow from the musical The King and I.