Context: The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is taken from Ovid. The story is Hermia's dilemma: the forbidden love and the secret meeting. It has a tragical outcome but a farcical format. The lovers, kept apart by a wall, die, serving as a reminder of what might have been very serious consequences for Hermia had the main play not been a comedy. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet very near in time to this play to show the alternative outcome. | 
