Question

a little later than his thisbe had, and he could see what surely were the tracks of a wild beast left clearly on deep dust. his face grew ashen. and when he had found the bloodstained shawl, he cried: now this same night will see two lovers lose their lives. —\pyramus and thisbe,\ ovid which statement best describes how the order of events heightens tension in this passage? if pyramus had left at the same time as thisbe, he might have seen that she was not killed by the lion. if the lioness had arrived later, she would have encountered pyramus rather than thisbe. if pyramus had arrived earlier, he would have seen the lion attack thisbe. if pyramus and thisbe had arrived at the same time, they would have encountered the lioness together.

Explanation:

The passage shows Pyramus arrives after Thisbe, finds beast tracks and her bloodstained shawl, and assumes she is dead. Tension comes from this tragic misunderstanding that could be avoided if their timing matched. The first option directly addresses how the mismatch in their departure times leads to Pyramus' fatal misbelief, which is the core tension here. The other options do not focus on the specific tension of Pyramus' mistaken assumption of Thisbe's death that drives the tragic outcome.

Answer:

A. If Pyramus had left at the same time as Thisbe, he might have seen that she was not killed by the lion.