Another essay I had to write last year for Honors English. This one was on 'Pyramus and Thisbe'. I think I got a C on this one, too.

Connotative Language in “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe”

“The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” from The Metamorphoses, by the author, Ovid, is a great example of literary work. It tells the tale of two young lovers destined to meet a tragic fate. Their story is told using ample amounts of the connotative meanings of certain words. “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” uses several forms of connotative language, such as: a wall, fire, and a tomb.

The wall between the houses of Pyramus and Thisbe is an example of connotative language in “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe”. This wall is connotative in the sense that the significance of the wall is not its direct meaning (to divide, separate, or shut off), but rather its emotional meaning. Emotionally, the wall is separating Pyramus and Thisbe; they are forbidden to be with one another and this wall is keeping them from being together. Yet, walls can be breached. This occurs literally, as can be seen when Ovid states: “There was a fissure in the wall between/ Their houses, a small, thin crevice that no one/ Had seen” (ll. 15-17). In “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe”, the two young lovers find this breach in the wall, and are able to continue communicating with one another.

Another example of connotative language in “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” is the use of fire. Pyramus’ and Thisbe’s love for each other is often compared to a banked fire. Their love for one another has to be suppressed, because they are forbidden to each other. Ovid portrays this when he states:

And yet no parent

Can check the heat of love, therefore, the lovers

Burned with mutual flames. Nor friend nor servant

Spoke for them; their speech was in the gesture

Of a nod, a smile; the more they banked the flames

The more they smoldered with a deeper heat.

(ll. 9-14)

So their passion continues to smolder, and like smoldering embers, is liable to burst into flames at any given moment.

Yet another example of connotative language in “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” is the use of a tomb. Pyramus and Thisbe, tired of being kept away from one another, conspire to run away and be together. Their rendezvous point is revealed when Ovid says: “…to prevent/ The chance of being led astray they chose/ The site of Ninus’ tomb to meet each other…” (ll. 40-42). This meeting place is connotative in the sense that a tomb’s denotation is a place in which the dead are buried or commemorated. This tomb, in “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe”, is also the place where both Pyramus and Thisbe lose their lives. Ninus’ tomb, then, is connotative in the sense that this place where the dead are buried is the place where they are fated die.

“The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” uses several forms of connotative language, including the use of a wall, a fire, and a tomb. These things and many more, all hold a deeper meaning in the story, helping to portray the ups, downs, trials, and conquests that Pyramus and Thisbe go through to keep their love for one another. These ample amounts of connotative language are what make “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” from The Metamorphoses, by Ovid, such a great literary work.