Question

Read the excerpt from Ovid’s "Pyramus and Thisbe". 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: it's I who bear the guilt for this. Which statement best describes how the order of events creates tension? Because Pyramus does not see the beast, readers fear confrontation. Because Pyramus does not see the beast, he believes he is lost. Because Pyramus is late, he misunderstands Thisbe’s situation. Because Pyramus is late, readers question his devotion.

Answer 1

Answer:

Because Pyramus is late, he misunderstands Thisbe's situation.

Explanation:

The excerpt from Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" displays the tension created by the sequence of events and Pyramus' late arrival makes him misinterpret Thisbe's situation. Had he come on time, he would have realized that she was not killed by the beast but actually the beast itself. He witnesses a jawed lioness hanging out under the mulberry leaves where they were supposed to meet. But, he reaches late and thus, assumes the situation and misunderstands it and kills himself with a sword that leads Thisbe also to kill herself with the same sword and ends on a tragic note. If Pyramus would not be late, the tragedy would have been something else. Thus, the option first is correct.

Answer 2

The correct answer is: Because Pyramus is later, he misunderstands Thisbe's situation. This story is actually a beautiful and tragic love story of two lovers who were about to elope but fate had other plans for them. The story leads to a very tragic series of events that would ultimately become one of the famous Babylonian love stories to be told in the next generations.