PYRAMUS AND THISBE. by John Donne (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions)

 

PYRAMUS AND THISBE.

by John Donne

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase, Analysis & Questions) 

PYRAMUS AND THISBE.

Two, by themselves, each other, love and fear,

Slain, cruel friends, by parting have join’d here.

 

This couplet captures the myth’s tragic paradox: love and fear, separation and unity, life and death—all entwined within the fates of the lovers. Though brief, it reflects Donne’s knack for dense metaphor and emotional intensity.

 

Summary

This short epigram retells the tragic ending of the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, two lovers from ancient Babylon whose story was famously told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

"Two, by themselves, each other, love and fear"

– This line refers to Pyramus and Thisbe, who are in love with each other but live under strict separation by their families.

– Despite being apart ("by themselves"), they maintain a deep emotional connection: they love each other but also fear for their fate and the consequences of their forbidden relationship.

– It reflects their inner emotional turmoil—intense longing mixed with anxiety.

 

"Slain, cruel friends, by parting have join’d here."

– This line recounts the tragic ending: they die because of a misunderstanding—Pyramus thinks Thisbe has been killed by a lion, so he kills himself; she returns, sees his body, and then kills herself too.

– The phrase "cruel friends" could refer either to the forces that kept them apart (such as family or fate) or to the idea of “parting” itself, which caused their deaths.

– Ironically, although they were kept apart in life, they are now united in death, lying side by side in death’s embrace.

 

In Essence:

John Donne compresses the entire tragic love story into just two tightly packed lines, summarizing:

Their isolated love,

Their fear,

The cruel separation,

And finally, their tragic but unified death.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

Original Line 1:

Two, by themselves, each other, love and fear,

Paraphrase:

Two people, who are alone and separated, deeply love each other—but also feel fear (perhaps fear of being discovered or of losing each other).

 

Original Line 2:

Slain, cruel friends, by parting have join’d here.

Paraphrase:

They were killed—ironically—by the very separation that kept them apart, and now, after death, they have finally been united.

 

Full Paraphrase:

Pyramus and Thisbe were two lovers who, though kept apart and alone, still loved each other and lived in fear.

Sadly, their forced separation led to their deaths—but in dying, they were at last brought together.

 

Analysis in Detail

Overview:

John Donne’s epigram is a poetic miniature—just two lines—yet it carries the emotional and narrative weight of the entire myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. The poem is dense with meaning, paradox, and emotional contrast, reflecting Donne’s metaphysical style. It explores love, fear, separation, death, and tragic unity.

 

Line 1 Analysis:

“Two, by themselves, each other, love and fear,”

Subject: The “two” refers to Pyramus and Thisbe, the legendary lovers from Babylon.

Phrase “by themselves” suggests isolation. The lovers are separated physically due to the disapproval of their families.

“Each other” is nestled within the structure, emphasizing that even in separation, their thoughts and affections are focused on one another.

“Love and fear”: These two powerful emotions coexist in their hearts. They love each other deeply, but fear the consequences of defying social constraints, and perhaps fear the fragility of their secret relationship.

The structure of this line mimics the very tension in their lives: distance and closeness, intimacy and fear, all at once. It’s a reflection of love that is simultaneously uniting and dividing.

 

Line 2 Analysis:

“Slain, cruel friends, by parting have join’d here.”

“Slain” points directly to their tragic fate. Both Pyramus and Thisbe die—first Pyramus by suicide, believing Thisbe to be dead, and then Thisbe by her own hand upon finding him.

“Cruel friends” is an oxymoron. The phrase suggests betrayal by those who should care. It may refer to the families who kept them apart or even to abstract concepts—like fate, time, or societal rules—which acted as “friends” yet turned cruel.

“By parting have join’d here” is the poem’s most poignant paradox: it was their separation (or “parting”) that indirectly caused their deaths, yet that same parting is what ultimately unites them in death.

The phrase “join’d here” evokes the image of their bodies finally lying together—something they couldn’t achieve in life.

 

Themes Explored:

Love and Separation: The intensity of love heightens in separation, yet here, it leads to a tragic consequence.

Death as Union: A metaphysical twist—death, though destructive, becomes the only means of true union.

Paradox and Irony: Donne uses contrast and contradiction throughout—love and fear, cruel friends, parting that unites—to capture the complex reality of human emotion and fate.

The Power of Miscommunication: As in the original myth, misunderstanding leads to unnecessary tragedy—a timeless theme in love stories.

Compression of Narrative: Donne condenses an entire mythological story into two compact lines, showcasing his brilliance in poetic economy and layered meaning.

 

Tone and Style:

The tone is solemn and elegiac, mourning the tragedy of the lovers while also reflecting on the cruel irony of their fate. Donne’s metaphysical style is evident in the way he layers deep emotional truth and abstract concepts into highly compressed language. His wordplay is intellectual, yet emotionally resonant.

 

Conclusion:

In just two lines, Donne achieves what many poems struggle to do in pages: he retells a myth, evokes sympathy, presents a paradox, and delivers an emotional and philosophical reflection on love, separation, and death. “Pyramus and Thisbe” is a compact tragedy and a brilliant demonstration of Donne’s poetic depth.

 

Possible Exam Questions

Who are the “two” referred to in John Donne’s epigram “Pyramus and Thisbe”?

 

What emotions do Pyramus and Thisbe experience according to the first line of the poem?

 

What does the phrase “cruel friends” suggest in the context of the poem?

 

How does the epigram reflect the theme of tragic love?

 

Explain the paradox in the line “by parting have join’d here.”

 

How does John Donne compress the entire tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe into just two lines?

 

Discuss the use of paradox in Donne’s epigram “Pyramus and Thisbe.”

 

Examine the emotional and thematic depth of Donne’s epigram, despite its brevity.

 

Comment on Donne’s style and poetic technique in the epigram “Pyramus and Thisbe.”

 

In what ways does this poem reflect the characteristics of metaphysical poetry?