batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l6033-l6130
---
record_id: batch.motif.roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg-l6033-l6130
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
passage_locator:
label: EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE FOURTH.; lines 6033-6130
start: '6033'
end: '6130'
translation: The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books I-VII
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: 'The passage gives the close of the Pyramus and Thisbe episode: Thisbe
finds Pyramus dying, identifies his sword-sheath and her garment, declares that
his own hand and love destroyed him, asks both sets of parents to bury the lovers
together, calls on the tree to bear dark fruit as a memorial, and kills herself
with the same sword. The gods and parents grant the request: the fruit becomes
black when ripe, and the lovers'' remains are placed in one urn. The supplied
excerpt also includes translator''s footnotes on Minyas, Alcithoë and her sisters,
Bacchic rites and epithets, Lycurgus, work-baskets, and Minerva as spinning.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Pyramus responds to Thisbe's name by raising his eyes while near death, seeing
her, and closing them again.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Thisbe sees her own garment and an ivory sheath without its sword.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Thisbe says that Pyramus's own hand and love have destroyed him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Thisbe says that she also has a hand and love, and that she will follow Pyramus
in death.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Thisbe asks her and Pyramus's parents not to deny the lovers burial in the
same tomb.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Thisbe addresses the tree that overshadows Pyramus's body and calls on it
to bear black fruit as a mourning memorial for the lovers' blood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Thisbe places the sword-point beneath her breast and falls on the sword, which
is still wet with Pyramus's blood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The prayers are said to move the gods and the parents.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The ripe fruit is black, and the lovers' remains from the funeral pile rest
in the same urn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pyramus
description: A dying youth who sees Thisbe, closes his eyes again, and whose sword
and blood are present when Thisbe arrives.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Thisbe
description: The lover who finds Pyramus, speaks over him, asks for shared burial,
addresses the tree, and kills herself with his bloodied sword.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Parents of Pyramus and Thisbe
description: The parents addressed by Thisbe and later said to be moved by the lovers'
prayers.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Gods
description: Divine figures who are said to be moved by Thisbe's prayers.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dying beloved
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pyramus raises his eyes at Thisbe's name while heavy with death and then
closes them again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: mourning beloved
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Thisbe recognizes the signs of Pyramus's death and speaks of following him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: self-killing companion in death
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Thisbe declares she will follow Pyramus in death and falls upon the same
sword.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: petitioned kin
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Thisbe addresses both sets of parents and asks them to permit a shared tomb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: divine grantors of prayer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage says the gods were moved by Thisbe's prayers, after which the
fruit is black and the remains are in one urn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree
literal_form: The tree overshadowing Pyramus's body and later bearing black fruit.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: black fruit
literal_form: Fruit that is black when fully ripened, described as suited for mourning
and as a memorial of the lovers' blood.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: sword
literal_form: The sword absent from its ivory sheath and later reeking with Pyramus's
blood when Thisbe falls upon it.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: same tomb and same urn
literal_form: The requested same tomb and the final single urn holding what remained
from the funeral pile.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: blood memorial
literal_form: The lovers' blood memorialized through the darkened fruit of the tree.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Thisbe finds Pyramus dying
summary: Pyramus hears Thisbe's name, opens his eyes to see her, and closes them
again; Thisbe observes her garment and the empty sword-sheath.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Thisbe's lament and burial petition
summary: Thisbe states that Pyramus's own hand and love destroyed him, declares
that she will follow him in death, and asks both sets of parents to bury the lovers
together.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Tree addressed as memorial
summary: Thisbe addresses the tree above Pyramus's body and asks it to bear black
fruit as a mourning token of the lovers' blood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Thisbe's death and fulfillment of prayer
summary: Thisbe falls upon the bloodied sword; the gods and parents are moved, the
fruit becomes black when ripe, and the lovers' remains are placed in one urn.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: lovers joined in death
taxonomy_refs:
- annihilation_union
basis: Thisbe says she will follow Pyramus in death, asks that death not separate
them, and their remains finally rest in the same urn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy label is approximate; the passage emphasizes burial union
and shared death rather than a metaphysical union.
- id: motif:2
label: shared tomb for dead lovers
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Thisbe petitions the parents for a single tomb, and the remains from the
funeral pile are placed in the same urn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a local passage motif without a supplied exact taxonomy reference.
- id: motif:3
label: tree changed into a memorial of blood
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Thisbe asks the tree to bear black mourning fruit as a memorial of the lovers'
blood, and the passage states that the ripe fruit is black.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes a change in fruit color, not transformation of a
person into a tree.
- id: motif:4
label: self-killing with the beloved's weapon
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Thisbe falls upon the sword that is still reeking with Pyramus's blood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The broader cause of Pyramus's death is only partially represented in
the supplied excerpt.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6033-6035
quote_or_summary: At the name of Thisbe, Pyramus raises his eyes, sees her, and
closes them again while dying.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6035-6039
quote_or_summary: Thisbe perceives her own garment and the ivory sheath without
the sword, and says Pyramus's own hand and love destroyed him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6039-6044
quote_or_summary: Thisbe says she too has a hand and love, will gain strength for
the wound, and will follow Pyramus in death as cause and companion of his fate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6044-6049
quote_or_summary: Thisbe says death alone could tear Pyramus from her, and asks
both sets of parents to allow the lovers, joined by love and final moments, to
be buried in the same tomb.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6049-6055
quote_or_summary: Thisbe addresses the tree that covers Pyramus's body, says it
will soon cover two bodies, and asks it to bear black mourning fruit as a memorial
of their blood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6055-6057
quote_or_summary: Thisbe fixes the sword-point beneath her breast and falls on the
sword, which is still wet with Pyramus's blood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6058-6061
quote_or_summary: The prayers move the gods and parents; the fruit is black when
ripe, and what remained from the funeral pile rests in the same urn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6062-6130
quote_or_summary: The supplied footnotes explain names and background connected
with Minyas, Alcithoë and her sisters, Bacchic rites and epithets, Lycurgus, work-baskets,
and Minerva as spinning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/roman/project-gutenberg/metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main narrative unit is clearly the conclusion of Pyramus and Thisbe.
The later footnotes in the supplied range concern other contextual material and
were summarized but not used for motif claims.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare this episode with another tradition or corpus.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:roman-ovid-metamorphoses-books-1-7-riley-gutenberg__l6033-l6130
passage_sha256=a7655e59a5245a9adbea0a84e2edb2d72ca03cc18b2d00bfa7e4d37b4021081a