The Wall as a Metaphor

One of the most hilarious uses of the wall as a metaphor is in A Midsummer Nights Dream when the rustics need to be a wall in their play. The lovers must try to talk to each other through it. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM [Act V] To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo. This grisly beast, which Lion hight by name, The trusty Thisbe, coming first by night, Did scare away, or rather did a, fright; And as she, fled, her mantle she did fall, Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain. Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall, And finds his trusty Thisbe's mantle slain; Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade, He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast; And Thisbe, tarrying in mulberry shade, His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest. Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain At large discourse, while here they do remain. Exeunt Prologue, The. I wonder if the lion be to speak? Dem. No wonder, my lord; one lion may when many asses do. Wall. In this same interlude it doth befall That I, one Snout by name, present a wall; And such a wall as I would have you think That had in it a crannied hole, or chink, Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, Did whisper often, very secretly. This loam, this rough-cast, and this stone doth show That I am that same wall; the truth is so: And this the cranny is, right and sinister, Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper. The. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better Dem.It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse, my lord. Enter PYRAMUS The. Pyramus draws near the wall; silence! Pyr. O grim-look'd night! 0 night with hue so black! O night, which ever art when day is not! O night, 0 night, alack, alack, alack, I fear my Thisbe's promise is forgot! And thou, 0 wall, O sweet, 0 lovely wall, That stand'st between her father's ground and mine; Thou wall, 0 wall, 0 sweet and lovely wall, Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. [Wall stretches out his fingers.] Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this! But what see I? No Thisbe do I see. O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss, Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me The. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again. Pyr. No, in truth sir, he should not. `Deceiving me' is Thisbe's cue: she is to enter now, and I am to spy her through the wall. You shall see it will fall pat as I told you: yonder she comes. Enter Thisbe. This. 0 wall, full often hast thou heard my moans, For parting my fair Pyramus and me! My cherry lips have of ten kiss'd thy stones, Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee. Pyr. I see a voice; now will 1 to the chink, To spy and 1 can hear my Thisbe's face. Thisbe? This. My love thou art, my love I think! Pyr. Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace; And like Limander am I trusty still. This. And I like Helen, till the Fates me kill. Pyr. Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true. This. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you. Pyr. O kiss me through the hole of this vile wall. This. I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all. Pyr. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me straightway? This. 'Tide life, 'tide death, l come without delay. Exeunt Pyramus and Thisbe Wall. Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so; And, being done, thus Wall away doth go. The. Now is the mure rased between the two neigbours. Dem. No remedy my lord, when walls are so wilful to hear without warning. Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. It's not easy posting Shakespeare here with lack of italics and all that, there may well be errors (A Comedy of Errors?)

Pink floyd (much as i luv em) have virtually killed the wall metaphore. That's the problem with metaphores, their meanings keep changing even after you've finished with them.