Figures of Speech in Pyramus and Thisbe

In Pyramus and Thisbe, Ovid uses many rhetoric devices to create his story. Below are three examples of such.

A. Rhetorical Question

• "Quid non sentit amor?"
• Ovid asks what doesn't love see; but he doesn't want us to answer
• Therfore, this is a rhetorical question

B. Chiasmus

• "...hinc Thisbe, Pyramus illinc..."
• Ovid uses ABBA word order
• We can visualize Thisbe on one side, and Pyramus on the other

C. Personification or Apostrophe

• "...primi vidistis amantes..."
• Ovid is talking to a wall; he says that the wall had "seen" the lovers first
• Walls can't see - a wall is an inanimate object (personification)
• And the wall wasn't present when ovid was speaking to it (apostrophe)