Download exam review packet part 2

Exam Review Packet
Collections Grade 9 Guiding Questions
Collection 4
“Pyramus and Thisbe” retold by Ovid, translated by Allen Mandelbaum
Read the myth “Pyramus and Thisbe” retold by Ovid. Then, reread the lines indicated with each question
below. Answer each question, citing text evidence.
1. Lines 1–11: How does the poem resemble the story of Romeo and Juliet so far? What element of Romeo
and Juliet’s relationship differs from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe?
2. Lines 12–16: Explain the meaning of this proverb. How does the proverb relate to Pyramus and Thisbe?
3. Lines 23–35: Explain how Pyramus and Thisbe manage to communicate with each other. How does
their situation differ from that of Romeo and Juliet?
4. Lines 23–51: What are examples of plot elements that inspired Shakespeare and examples of plot
elements that Shakespeare modified?
5. Lines 51–53: Why does Ovid describe the mulberry tree in the story as having white berries, while the
footnote says that mulberries are red or purple?
6. Lines 52–53, 69–73: How might the snow-white berries be a kind of foreshadowing that adds tension to
the story? Explain how lines 69–73 might foreshadow future events?
7. Lines 73–89: Compare these lines to lines 77–80 in Act V, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in
which Romeo learns that Juliet is dead. How is Shakespeare’s version of events similar to and different
from events in the poem?
8. Lines 92–106: What plot elements did Shakespeare borrow from the poem? In what way are the death
scenes of Pyramus and Romeo similar? What elements of the death scene did Shakespeare choose not
to borrow?
9. Lines 113–129: What are examples of imagery, or vivid descriptions that add to the intensity of emotion
in the story?
10. Lines 129–137: What overarching theme relates to Thisbe’s exclamation, “your love has killed you”?
How do lines 136–137 help illustrate another theme that is also developed in Shakespeare?
11. Lines 144–152: Explain how Thisbe’s death inspired Juliet’s death in the play.