A Blog on Onomatopoeia!? Eek!

Oh, onomatopoeia...what a rhetorical device. A word that imitates a sound, things like "achoo" and "eek." And it is this rhetorical device that Ovid uses in line 83 of Pyramus and Thisbe.

"...ad solitum coiere locum. Tum, murmure parvo..."

First, notice the alliteration with the M's. (solitum, locum, tum, murmure) Now, pay attention to one word: murmure. Pyramus and Thisbe are MURMURING!!!!!! The use of the M's in line 83 help us to "hear" the soft murmur the two share on opposite sides of the wall. Here, the use of other soft sounds such as the S in solitum and the C's in coiere and locum also help to convey this image of soft, loving murmurs between Pyramus and Thisbe.

This is a wonderful example of how Ovid uses rhetorical devices in his work to help convey the story. By using the onomatopoeia in line 83, we get a more vivid picture of the two lovers. It helps us not only to see what is going on, but hear it as well. The soft sounds of M's, S's and C's imitate the soft sounds created when Pyramus and Thisbe are talking quietly, whispering, murmuring, to each other through the crack in the wall. And it is this imagery that helps to make Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe such a wonderfully vivid work.