Question

Read the excerpts from Ovid’s "Pyramus and Thisbe" and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. "Pyramus and Thisbe" They owed their first encounters to their living close beside each other—but with time, love grows. Theirs did—indeed they wanted to be wed, but marriage was forbidden by their parents; yet there's one thing that parents can't prevent: the flame of love that burned in both of them. Romeo and Juliet Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. What statement best describes the relationship between these works? Both works show a marriage denied; only Shakespeare offers background. Both works show young people in love; only Shakespeare suggests limitations. Both works show young people in love; only Shakespeare describes the setting. Both works show a marriage denied; only Shakespeare mentions families.

Answer 1

Answer: A. Both works show a marriage denied; only Shakespeare offers background.

Explanation: In both the given excerpts from "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare and "Pyramus and Thisbe" by Ovid, we can see the description of a young couple in love, that wanted to get married and couldn't. In the excerpt from Pyramus and Thisbe, it only says that the marriage was forbidden by their parents, but it doesn't explain why, in contrast, in the excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, the author explains that the marriage was forbidden because of their parents' strife (it provides background).

Answer 2

Choice A seems accurate. Both works show a marriage denied; only Shakespeare offers background.