The Rape Of Lucrece By William Shakespeare - 1786 Words

In Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Rape of Lucrece,† theoretical republicanism is predicated on the existence of and distinction between two types of men: the slave and the free. Those freeborn men who qualify for the responsibility and privilege of participating in the public sphere, are then further dependent upon the existence of a domestic female sphere in order to exercise their political virtue. The intersection between these two vital tenets of Classical Republicanism, class and gender politics, becomes structurally problematic within the context of Late Elizabethan Republicanism—when England is ruled rather successfully by a queen (Kunat 3). It is during this time that Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Rape of Lucrece† enters the conversation, imbuing the†¦show more content†¦In a similar description, the poem compares both women with â€Å"ivory conduits coral cisterns filling† (Shakespeare 1234). This nature imagery bears the connotation of being gendered distinctly feminine in classical and early modern literature. Furthermore, these images highlight the overwhelming quality of the natural elements; things are filling, swelling, and being quenched, as if beyond the control of the women. As Shakespeare points out, the maid’s emotions have no basis in reason as there is â€Å"no cause but company of her drops’ spilling† (Shakespeare 1236). The poem even ventures so far as to claim that the â€Å"gentle sex† are prone to emotion devoid of logic to the point of self-inflicted violence—â€Å"they drown their eyes or break their hearts†Ã¢â‚¬â€which becomes a haunting foreshadower of Lucretia’s suicide (Shakespeare 1239). The insinuation present in this snapshot of the patriarchal household is that women, when left to their own nature without male guidance, are easily overcome with emotion and thus rendered incapable of rationality. Shakespeare’s potent description of this interaction begins to reveal how such anti-feminist ideology was the lifeblood of patriarchal authority in monarchical Rome. As this interaction between mistress and servant progresses, the definition of a woman by theShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography on the Prevelence of Rape in Shakespeares Work909 Words   |  4 PagesGreenstadt, Amy. Read It In Me: the Authors Will in Lucrece. Shakespeare Quarterly. 57.1 (Spring 2006): 45-70. JStore. Web. 18 February 2014. In this body of work, associate professor at the University of Portland, Amy Greenstadt presents a compelling argument exploring William Shakespeares precise use of words in his poem The Rape of Lucrece. Structurally, Greenstadt employs a close reading method and anchors her research findings with the confirmation of concurring academics. 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