Question

Read the excerpts from Ovid’s "Pyramus and Thisbe" and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. "Pyramus and Thisbe" "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. 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 feast 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. He wept and cried out as he held that dear shawl fast: "Now drink from my blood, too!” And then he drew his dagger from his belt and thrust it hard into his guts. Romeo and Juliet Romeo: O my love! my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty: Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death's pale flag is not advanced there. Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet? O, what more favour can I do to thee, Than with that hand that cut thy youth in twain To sunder his that was thine enemy? Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet, Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; And never from this palace of dim night Depart again: here, here will I remain With worms that are thy chamber-maids; O, here Will I set up my everlasting rest, And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death! Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on The das

Answer 1

The given literary excerpts center on tragic self-inflicted deaths resulting from misunderstandings or a desire to maintain honor, as seen in narratives such as Ovid's 'Pyramus and Thisbe' and Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpts provided are from tragic narratives where main characters die due to a misunderstanding or a tragic occurrence. In Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe," Pyramus mistakenly believes Thisbe has been killed by a lion and kills himself. Thisbe, discovering the dead Pyramus, then takes her own life. Similarly, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo kills himself believing Juliet to be dead, and upon waking, Juliet kills herself after seeing Romeo dead. Livy's Ab Urbe Condita presents the sui_cide of Lucretia, who takes her life after being violated despite her innocence to maintain her honor.

These narratives showcase a common theme of death by their own hand, often in response to love, honor, or other overwhelming emotions. They emphasize the tragic nature of events that unfold due to miscommunication or poor timing, and the dramatic, often irreversible reactions of the characters involved.