The Tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (CA, III, 1331-1494)

Author/Editor
Moran, Judith C. G

Title
The Tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (CA, III, 1331-1494)

Published
Moran, Judith C. G. "The Tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (CA, III, 1331-1494)." In John Gower's Literary Transformations in the Confessio Amantis: Original Articles and Translations. Ed. Beidler, Peter G. Washington, D. C.: University Press of America, 1982, pp. 21-24. ISBN 0819125962

Review
Moran summarizes Ovid's account of Pyramus and Thisbe ("Metamorphoses" 4.55-166) and identifies ways that Gower alters Ovid's version in his own account in CA 3.1331-1494. Gower "eliminates the mulberry tree as the generative force in the story," "pares out sentimental detail to make way for his lesson," and "makes his lovers more active in their efforts to be together," particularly in ways that clarifies Pyramus's self-centered "foolhaste." [MA]

Date
1982

Gower Subjects
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations
Confessio Amantis