Question

read the excerpt from “pyramus and thisbe” from ovid’s metamorphoses. pyramus had left 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: she was the one more worthy of long life. as i who bear the guilt for this, o my poor girl, it’s i who led you to your death. i said you were to reach this fearful place by night: i let you be the first who would arrive. o all you lions with your lairs beneath this cliff, come now, and with your fierce jaws tear upon my wretched guts! but cowards talk as i do—longing for their death but not prepared to act.” at that he gathered up the bloody tatters of his thisbe’s shawl and set them underneath the shady tree where he and she had planned to meet. enter your answer in the box. in ovid’s “pyramus and thisbe”, pyramus’s response to the discovery of thisbe’s bloody veil gives insight into his character through characterization

Explanation:

Pyramus's reaction—growing ashen at the sight of the bloodstained shawl, crying out in despair, blaming himself for Thisbe's death, and preparing to take his own life—reveals he is intensely passionate, deeply loyal, guilt-ridden, and prone to impulsive, dramatic acts of devotion. His immediate assumption of Thisbe's death and his quick move to end his own life highlight his extreme emotionality and the depth of his love.

Answer:

Pyramus is characterized as intensely passionate, guilt-ridden, and dramatically devoted. His ashen reaction to the shawl, self-blame for Thisbe's supposed death, and choice to take his own life show he is emotionally volatile and prioritizes his love over his own life.