Read the excerpt from Ovid’s "Pyramus and Thisbe".


And when he had found

the bloodstained shawl, he cried: "Now this same night

will see two lovers lose their lives: she was

the one more worthy of long life: it's I

who bear the guilt for this. O my poor girl,

it's I who led you to your death; I said

you were to reach this fearful place by night;

I let you be the first who would arrive.

O all you lions with your lairs beneath

this cliff, come now, and with your fierce jaws feast

upon my wretched guts!


Which statement best describes how the pace of the excerpt creates tension?


Pyramus’s quick action hurries the plot to his tragic death.

Pyramus’s quick action hurries the plot to reveal his crime.

Pyramus’s long speech slows the pace to prolong suspense.

Pyramus’s long speech slows the pace to taunt the lioness.