The Rape of Lucrece

by Shakespeare

First published 1594

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Shakespeare’s narrative poem recounts the Roman legend of Lucrece, whose reputation for chastity attracts the attention of Sextus Tarquinius, son of the king. He enters her household, threatens her and rapes her, leaving Lucrece to confront both the violence itself and the honour code through which Roman society judges sexual violation.

After telling her husband and relatives what happened, Lucrece kills herself and her death becomes a political catalyst against the Tarquin monarchy. The poem gives unusually sustained attention to interior argument, shame, responsibility and the misuse of princely power, connecting private crime with the legendary transition from Roman kingship to republican government.