Question

Read the passage excerpt from Act V, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Shakespeare's version of Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe myth Pyramus O grim-look’d night! O night with hue so black! O night, which ever art when day is not! O night, O night! alack, alack, alack, I fear my Thisby’s promise is forgot! And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall, That stand’st between her father’s ground and mine! Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall, Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne! Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this scene and the myth. Which aspect of Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe" has Shakespeare transformed in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Shakespeare, unlike Ovid, gives a reason why the wall is important. Shakespeare makes fun of characters whom Ovid treats seriously. Shakespeare has added a romantic angle to the plot.
Shakespeare criticizes ancient Rome, while Ovid cannot.

Answer 1

Shakespeare makes fun of characters whom Ovid treats seriously.

Answer 2

Answer: Shakespeare makes fun of characters whom Ovid treats seriously.

The last act of A Midsummer Night's Dream is intended to provide comic relief. Therefore, it is absurd and nonsensical, as well as humorous. The characters try to enact the mythological story of Pyramus and Thisbe, by Ovid. However, Ovid's story is tragic, and it takes the characters seriously. On the other hand, Shakespeare makes fun of the characters.