The archetype that the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe represents is the star-crossed lovers. This is the term that comes from Shakespeare, and his play Romeo and Juliet. The term refers to an impossible relationship - to the type of love which is doomed to fail no matter what the lovers do about it. They've 'crossed the stars,' meaning that they've somehow angered fate, and will thus never have their 'happily ever after."
