Metamorphoses · Chapter
Book IV explained
The chapter recounts the tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, whose forbidden romance ends in double suicide under a mulberry tree, staining its fruit forever.
What happens
The chapter recounts the tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, whose forbidden romance ends in double suicide under a mulberry tree, staining its fruit forever. It also tells of Apollo's love for Leucothoe, his betrayal by Clytie, and the defiance of Alcithoe and her sisters who mock Bacchus's rites and instead tell tales while weaving.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
The passionate but doomed love of Pyramus and Thisbe, and Apollo's consuming desire for Leucothoe, drive the narrative.
Transformation and Metamorphosis
The mulberry tree's fruit changes color from white to purple due to the lovers' blood; Leucothoe is transformed into a frankincense tree.
Divine Power and Human Folly
Alcithoe and her sisters mock Bacchus, demonstrating human folly in challenging divine authority, while Apollo's power both blesses and curses mortals.
Characters to notice
- Pyramus
Young Babylonian lover who kills himself believing Thisbe has been devoured by a lioness.
- Thisbe
Beloved of Pyramus; she returns to find him dead and joins him in death by falling on his sword.
- Apollo
The sun god who falls in love with Leucothoe and is betrayed by Clytie.
- Leucothoe
Beloved of Apollo; she is buried alive by her father and transformed into a frankincense tree.
- Clytie
A nymph scorned by Apollo; she reveals his affair with Leucothoe to her father.
- Bacchus
God whose rites are mocked by Alcithoe and her sisters; they are punished for their impiety.
Key passages
“The berries, stain'd with blood, began to show A dark complexion, and forgot their snow, While, fatten'd with the flowing gore, the root Was doom'd for ever to a purple fruit.”
The mulberries turned dark from the blood, and the root, nourished by the gore, was fated to bear purple fruit forever.
Describes the permanent transformation of the mulberry tree's fruit due to the lovers' deaths.
“The Sun, the source of light, by beauty's power Once amorous grew; then hear the sun's amour.”
The sun god, who gives light, fell in love because of beauty; now hear his love story.
Introduces Apollo's romantic pursuit of Leucothoe.
“But Mineus' daughters, while these rites were paid, At home impertinently busy stay'd; Their wicked tasks they ply with various art, And through the loom the sliding shuttle dart.”
But the daughters of Minyas stayed home, busy with their weaving, ignoring the sacred rites of Bacchus.
Highlights the defiance of Alcithoe and her sisters during Bacchus's festival.