The Myth of Pyramus and Thisbe by Benitu de l’Auxa

Abstract

Over the course of the history of literature, many versions of the Pyramus and Thisbe myth have been made ever since Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmo, 43 BCTomis, 17 AD), better known as Ovid, included this legend (little known until then, in his words) in his work the Metamorphoses (lines 55-166). This paper analyzes and compares the Ovidian original with the adaptation written in Asturian by clergyman and poet Benito de l’Auxa (Carreño, 1742-? 1814), edited by philologist and professor Xuan Busto Cortina in 2012. The Roman poet uses the myth to lighten the labours of the Minyades and show the metamorphosis of mulberries from white to dark (throughout the poem, myths have an explicative function). In turn, the poet from Carreño sets the story in a rural environment and depicts local customs like the esfoyaza or corn husking. The fable is used with didactic and dogmatic purposes, and an explicit moral can be seen in many of the passages that are developed, omitted or recreated: disproportionate love only leads to self-destruction and disaster. The style and the contents are in line with the standards of the period when the Asturian writer lived and with the portrayal of love during the Baroque. Likewise, the admonition present in the legend by De l’Auxa can be expected from the first octave stanzas, the sententious tone of the adaptation and the consideration for the beliefs of the church. As the editor argues, what is truly original in De l’Auxa’s interpretation of the myth is perhaps the emphasis on forthcoming economic consequences.