Question

Theirs did – indeed they wanted to be wed,
but marriage was forbidden by their parents;
yet there's one thing that parents can't prevent:
the flame of love that burned in both of them.
They had no confidant – and so used signs:
with these each lover read the other's mind:
when covered, fire acquires still more force.

–"Pyramus and Thisbe,”
Ovid

Read the two passages, and then answer the questions that follow.

What is revealed by the phrase “they had no confidant” in Ovid’s poem?



How does Romeo and Juliet’s situation differ from Pyramus and Thisbe’s in regard to “confidants”?

Answer 1

1) What is revealed by the phrase “they had no confidant” in Ovid’s poem?
- It means Pyramus and Thisbe had no trusted third person to tell about their love or to help them.
- Because no one knew what they felt, they had to rely entirely on secret signals and on one another.
- The phrase emphasizes their isolation, the intensity and secrecy of the relationship, and the lack of outside help or mediation.

2) How Romeo and Juliet’s situation differs in regard to “confidants”
- Unlike Pyramus and Thisbe, Romeo and Juliet do have confidants and intermediaries who know their secret: chiefly Juliet’s Nurse and Friar Laurence (and to a lesser extent Benvolio, Mercutio, and others who are close to Romeo).
- Those confidants actively assist (the Nurse delivers messages and arrangements; Friar Laurence marries them and devises plans), so Romeo and Juliet can use human intermediaries rather than only silent signs.
- That difference changes the plot: confidants allow schemes and communication but also introduce new risks and complications (misplaced advice, failed plans), whereas Pyramus and Thisbe’s complete lack of confidants contributes to the fatal miscommunication and their lone, tragic end.