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.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
"Venus and Adonis" by William Shakespeare (1593)
This long poem by Shakespeare is a companion piece to “The Rape of Lucrece”; both are dedicated to Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, and were published within a year of one another. Rather than the tragic events of Lucrece’s myth, “Venus and Adonis” is an erotic poem that turns the titular female character into the anachronistic knight in pursuit of love. Like “The Rape of Lucrece,” “Venus and Adonis” is a retelling of a Roman myth recorded by Ovid.
The Iliad by Homer (c. 762 B.C.)
The matter of Troy depicted in Lucrece’s painting is from The Iliad by Homer. This long Greek epic is often referenced in poetry, and its use of ekphrasis is emulated by Shakespeare in “The Rape of Lucrece.” The characters and actions discussed in Stanzas 196-226 (Lines 1366-1582) can be further understood by reading Homer’s poem.
"The Legend of Good Women: The Legend of Lucretia" by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1386)
Two-hundred years before Shakespeare wrote his poem about Lucrece, Chaucer dedicated Section V of “The Legend of Good Women” to her story. Chaucer uses iambic pentameter, like Shakespeare. They both offer a sympathetic characterization of Lucrece/Lucretia.
"Troilus and Criseyde" by Geoffrey Chaucer (1385)
Another long poem reflected in Shakespeare’s “Rape of Lucrece” is Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde.” Chaucer’s poem is the source for the poetic form that Shakespeare uses in his poem: rhyme royal, or the Troilus stanza. Furthermore, Shakespeare writes a new version of the Troilus story in his 1602 play Troilus and Cressida. Unlike Lucrece, Shakespeare has a less sympathetic characterization of Cressida than Chaucer.
Further Literary Resources
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (1592)
Titus Andronicus is a violent revenge play; its violence is much more extreme than the violence in “The Rape of Lucrece.” For instance, the rape victim of Titus Andronicus, Lavinia, is silenced by her rapists cutting out her tongue and cutting off her hands, so she cannot speak or write. Shakespeare’s interest in Rome is first seen in Titus Andronicus, and its Christian veil of anachronisms mirror the ones used in “The Rape of Lucrece.”
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1609)
Hamlet is also a revenge play, and is similar to “The Rape of Lucrece” in its focus on the psychology behind revenge over the acts of revenge. Hecuba is part of the Trojan painting that Lucrece gazes on, and Hecuba appears in Hamlet as a character that a player laments over. Hamlet’s famous line, “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba” is about an actor performing grief over the Iliad character’s death. Both “The Rape of Lucrece” and Hamlet are interested in the relationship between art and nature.
Tyrant by Stephen Greenblatt (2018)
Tyrant, by leading Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt, gives a literary and historical background to the Bard’s writings on monarchy, despotism, and all sorts of political absolutism in both Elizabethan England and the 21st century. While it does not address “The Rape of Lucrece” specifically, it provides important context and resources for anyone looking to develop a deeper look at how Shakespeare thought about power, even while he looked to the monarchs as patrons.
Listen to Poem
Camille O’Sullivan and Feargal Murray head the Royal Shakespeare Company’s dramatic reading of “The Rape of Lucrece.”
Related Titles
By William Shakespeare
