26 pages • 52 minutes read
William ShakespeareThe Rape of Lucrece
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1594A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Celestial Bodies
An important symbol in many Shakespearean works (and the works of many other poets) is the moon. The moon represents chastity, specifically chaste women, and, even more specifically to Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I. Collantine initially used celestial imagery when describing Lucrece at the men’s encampment, and Tarquin continues this motif. When Tarquin approaches Lucrece’s curtained bed, his heart “gives the watchword to his hand full soon / To draw the cloud that hides the silver moon” (370-371). Here, “Lucrece the chaste” (Line 7) is compared to the moon and her bed-curtain compared to the clouds.
After Tarquin assaults her and leaves, Lucrece takes up the motif of the moon. She has a long soliloquy about night, which includes: “The silver-shining queen he would distain; / Her twinkling handmaids too, by him defiled” (Lines 786-787). Here, the moon is directly described as a queen; this references Queen Elizabeth being the virgin (unmarried) queen at the time this poem was published (1594). The anachronistic implication here is that Lucrece can be compared to Elizabeth. Lucrece continues her discussion of the moon by speaking to how Tarquin’s position as prince makes his mistakes more visible: “The moon being clouded presently is missed, / But little stars may hide them when they list” (Lines 1007-1008). The moon, as a royal figure, cannot hide as easily as the stars, or people with lesser power and social status.
Other celestial bodies, like the sun and stars, appear throughout the poem. While these bodies are occasionally used to simply mark the passage of time, Lucrece also uses them in her discussion of the painting of Troy. The fall of Troy means “the skies were sorry, / And little stars shot from their fixed places / When their glass fell wherein they viewed their faces” (1534-1536). Here, “glass” figures Troy as a mirror for the heavens; stars lament the rape of Helen and subsequent war. This connects Helen, Lucrece, and Queen Elizabeth in celestial symbolism.
Eyes
The motif of eyes that runs throughout Shakespeare’s poem reflects the veil of anachronism: medieval romance tropes used in an ancient Roman setting. The relationship of the eyes and the heart, specifically eyes seeding lust from the perception of beauty, is seen in Arthurian tales as well as in “The Rape of Lucrece.” Eyes are connected to the celestial symbolism in this poem; for instance, Lucrece calls the rising sun the “eye of eyes” (Line 1088). More significantly is the use of eyes as a motivating force behind violence.
Tarquin is controlled by his sight, which causes lust due to exceeding beauty. The narrator describes Tarquin’s approach to Lucrece’s bed as: “Rolling his greedy eye-balls in his head, / By their high treason is his heart misled” (Lines 368-369). The hyphenation of “eye-balls” speaks to the connection between the eyes and male reproductive organs; what he sees, he lusts after. Tarquin’s heart is manipulated by these other organs. When debating with Lucrece about his intended violence, he blames her: “The fault is thine, / For those thine eyes betray thee unto mine” (Lines 482-483). Her eyes have seduced his eyes, and he claims this absolves him of responsibility for his actions. However, the narrator sides with Lucrece and against Tarquin; this rationale is considered evil, the work of a “lurking serpent” (Line 362).
Lucrece also picks up the motif of eyes in her soliloquy about the painting of Troy. When describing Paris’s lust and rape of Helen, she says his “eye kindled the fire that burneth here, / And here in Troy, for trespass of thine eye, / The sire, the son, the dame and daughter die” (1475-1477). This reiterates that allowing oneself to be controlled by (lustful) sight will only lead to death and destruction. Paris’s trespass spawns a great war, which prefigures how Tarquin’s violence will cause the destruction of the Roman monarchy.
Predator & Prey
Shakespeare couches Lucrece’s rape in hunting metaphors; these are not only euphemisms, but also emphasize the bestial nature of Tarquin’s act, one that rejects human vows and alliances. Before waking Lucrece, Tarquin is described “as the grim lion fawneth o’er his prey, / Sharp hunger by the conquest satisfied, / So o’re this sleeping soul doth Tarquin stay” (Lines 421-423). The predator metaphors continue during the act of rape itself: “When most unseen, then most doth tyrannize. / The wolf hath seized his prey, the poor lamb cries, / Till with her own white fleece her voice controlled / Entombs her outery in her lips’ sweet fold” (Lines 676-679). Other predatory animals that the narrator compares with Tarquin are the “full-fed hound or gorged hawk” (Line 694) and the “foul-waking cat” (Line 554).
Lucrece, in contrast, is compared with prey animals. She is a “new-killed bird” (Line 457), a “weak mouse” (Line 555), and a “poor frighted deer” (Line 1149). There is also an interesting moment when Tarquin stands outside her door before the assault, disassociating: “from himself impiety hath wrought / That for his prey to pray he doth begin” (Line 341-342). His former, non-rapist self is lost and he seeks divine intervention. However, Tarquin quickly abandons this avenue of thought, realizing that God is not on his side. He has become a soulless animal, a “rough beast that knows no gentle right, / Nor aught obeys but his foul appetite” (Lines 545-546).
Military
Tarquin’s violent actions are often described using military metaphors, which develops the interconnectedness of public and private lives. For instance, Tarquin believes he is a soldier of lust: “Affection is my captain, and he leadeth, / And when his gaudy banner is displayed, / The coward fights, and will not be dismayed” (Lines 271-273). This rationale allows Tarquin to shift the blame and justify that he was just taking orders from a military superior.
Also, the female body is figured as a location that can be conquered and desecrated. The narrator describes Lucrece’s body: “Her house is sacked, her quiet interrupted, / Her mansion battered by the enemy, / Her sacred temple spotted, soiled, corrupted” (Lines 1170-1172) after her sexual assault. These metaphors illustrate how the body is politicized and made public. Tarquin is not only traumatizing a person, but also moving against a political ally; he breaks the bonds between comrade-in-arms and becomes an “enemy.”
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
