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Pyramus and Thisbe
A Roman myth

Pyramus was the handsomest youth, and Thisbe the fairest maiden, in all Babylonia, where they lived. Their parents occupied adjoining houses, and their neighborhood brought the young people together. Acquaintance ripened into love. They would gladly have married, but their parents forbade it. One thing, however, they could not forbid: that love should glow with equal ardor in the hearts of both. They conversed by signs and gestures, and the fire burned more intensely for being covered up.

In the wall that parted the two houses, there was a crack caused by some fault in its structure. No one had remarked it before, but lovers discovered it. "What will love not discover?" It afforded a passage to the voice, and tender messages used to pass backward and forward through the gap. As they stood, Pyramus on this side, Thisbe on that, their breaths would mingle. "Cruel wall," they said, "why do you keep lovers apart? But we will not be ungrateful. We owe you, we confess, the privilege of transmitting loving words to willing ears." Such words they uttered on different sides of the wall; and when night came and they must say farewell, they pressed their lips upon the wall, she on her side, he on his, as they could come no nearer.

- From Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable

Select the correct answer from the drop-down menu.

The Roman myth about Pyramus and Thisbe influenced Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Why does Shakespeare most likely transform the original text?

Shakespeare transforms the Roman myth to:
A. show how Pyramus and Thisbe were strong characters.
B. engage the audience in the love story with a different theme.
C. engage the audience in the love story in a more relatable setting.
D. show how unrealistic the story was in "Pyramus and Thisbe."

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