by Ovid
The party-wall, common to the two houses, was cleft by a small chink, which it had got formerly, when it was built. This defect, remarked by no one for so many ages, you lovers (what does not love perceive?) first found one, and you made it a passage for your voices, and the accents of love used to pass through it in safety, with the gentlest murmur. Oftentimes, after they had taken their stations, Thisbe on one side, and Pyramus on the other, and the breath of their mouths had been mutually caught by turns, they used to say, ‘Envious wall, why dost thou stand in the way of lovers? what great matter were it, for thee to suffer us to be joined with our entire bodies? Or if that is too much, that, at least, thou shouldst open, for the exchange of kisses. Nor are we ungrateful; we confess that we are indebted to thee, that a passage has been given for our words to our loving ears.’ Having said this much, in vain, on their respective sides, about night they said, ‘Farewell’; and gave those kisses each on their own side, which did not reach the other side.
"The Metamorphoses" by Ovid
Question
Use the passages to answer the question. Select Passage 1 and Passage 2.
How does Shakespeare transform Ovid’s source material? Select the two correct answers.
(1 point)
Responses
Ovid’s story uses source material from an older story and makes it relevant to a new audience.
Ovid’s story uses source material from an older story and makes it relevant to a new audience.
Shakespeare takes Ovid’s story and puts it into dialogue to be performed by actors.
Shakespeare takes Ovid’s story and puts it into dialogue to be performed by actors.
Ovid’s story is a comedy, but Shakespeare turns it into a tragedy.
Ovid’s story is a comedy, but Shakespeare turns it into a tragedy.
Shakespeare has Thisbe talk to the wall, but Ovid does not.
Shakespeare has Thisbe talk to the wall, but Ovid does not.
Shakespeare uses Ovid’s source material to make the story new for new audiences.
Shakespeare uses Ovid’s source material to make the story new for new audiences.
1 answer
To answer your question regarding how Shakespeare transforms Ovid's source material in "The Metamorphoses," the two correct responses are:
Shakespeare adapts the narrative format of Ovid's work into a script for performance, and he also alters the tone of the story, shifting it from a comedic element to a tragic one.
