interpritation essay

Eli Hoaglund
Interpretation essay
Mythology period 6
16 September 2008


Pyramus and Thisbe
To have what you long for within sight, within smell, within audoucy, but not within touch is a cruel fate indeed. Such is the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe.

The sudden loss of love is a thing that can cause even the most reasonable people to become temporarily insane with there longing of what has been lost. In those times of irrationality choices are made that wouldn’t be made otherwise. In this case the loss of two vibrant, promising people because of the rash nature of the insanity, which shadows grief.

In literature, there are three types of interpretation or perspectives in which to veiw a situation from; natural (the tangible, physical things and symbolism), social (how the conflict effects a group be in the inhabitants of a city or an organization and how they react to it), and psychological (how it affects the individual).

Pyramus and Thisbe were lovers separated by the wall with a crack in it that joined their houses, and the beliefs of there families. This caused their longing for one another to grow; because it is inherent in human nature to want most what we do not have. After several days of basing their existence around the next secret set of whispers this state of having what they both long for so close but yet so far becomes unbearable and they decide to meet. Under the cover of night Thisbe arrives first, waits only to be scared off by a lion, in her haste she loses her cloak that is maimed by the lion. Pyrimus comes soon after to find only the mangled cloak covered in blood; in this first glance he immediately assumes that Thisbe is dead and in his grief plunges his sword into his chest. Soon after, in pyramuses dying moments, Thisbe comes back to find her love with the sword gaping from his limp body and some life still in his eyes. she Sees the cloak and immediately understands why he has done this. She kisses him in this last moment. He dies, in her sudden suddenness and grief and desperation she takes his sword and to kills herself.
This loss caused the rivaling families of the lovers to find peace between one another. When resources are scares and one is lost people become stronger to make up for it; in this case rival families find comfort in their sadness when they both know the pain that the other faction is enduring.

A basic need in human psychology is to belong or to have companionship.