Stanza 109 - Explanation

Original Stanza

Here she exclaims against repose and rest,
And bids her eyes hereafter still be blind.
She wakes her heart by beating on her breast,
And bids it leap from thence, where it may find
Some purer chest to close so pure a mind.
Frantic with grief thus breathes she forth her spite
Against the unseen secrecy of night:

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Okay, let's break down stanza 109 of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece' line by line and then consider the overall meaning.

Line-by-Line Breakdown:

• "Here she exclaims against repose and rest,"

  • Meaning: Lucrece is vocally protesting and denouncing the idea of peace, quiet, and sleep. She rejects any comfort or solace.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Exclaims: The use of the verb "exclaims" emphasizes the vehemence and intensity of her emotions.
    • Repose and Rest: These words are synonyms and create pleonasm or a redundancy, further emphasizing her rejection of peace.

• "And bids her eyes hereafter still be blind."

  • Meaning: She curses her eyes, wishing they would remain perpetually blind from this point forward. She wants to avoid ever seeing anything again after witnessing her own defilement.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Imagery: The image of blindness is a powerful symbol of her desire to shut out the world and the memory of the rape.
    • Direct Address: Lucrece is speaking directly to her eyes ("bids her eyes"). This is an example of apostrophe.

• "She wakes her heart by beating on her breast,"

  • Meaning: She physically rouses her heart, beating on her chest to wake it up. She wants to revive a sense of hope or perhaps, a sense of outrage.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Physicality: This line brings a sense of the physical reality of her distress. It's not just mental anguish; it's a physical response.
    • Metaphor: The heart as a representation of emotion and life force.

• "And bids it leap from thence, where it may find"

  • Meaning: She demands her heart to leave her body to find somewhere more suitable to reside.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Apostrophe: Again, she's speaking directly to her heart, further demonstrating her despair.

• "Some purer chest to close so pure a mind."

  • Meaning: She believes her body is now tainted and unworthy of harboring her pure mind and heart. She yearns for a more untainted vessel for her "pure" mind and heart.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Irony: The adjective "pure" is used with the word "mind" and "chest/heart" to heighten the irony of the situation. She feels she has been defiled which has tarnished her "pure" mind and heart, a notion not typically associated with physical events like the rape.
    • Alliteration: "Purer...pure" highlights the purity theme.

• "Frantic with grief thus breathes she forth her spite"

  • Meaning: Overwhelmed by grief and distraught, she gives vent to her anger and resentment.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Alliteration: The repetition of the "f" sound in "frantic" and "forth" adds to the emotional intensity.

• "Against the unseen secrecy of night:"

  • Meaning: She directs her rage at the night itself, because under the cover of darkness, the crime happened unnoticed.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Personification: The night is given the quality of "secrecy" as if it is an entity capable of hiding things.
    • Symbolism: The night acts as a symbol for the darkness that conceals evil and allows it to flourish.

Overall Meaning of the Stanza:

This stanza encapsulates Lucrece's intense emotional and physical reaction to the rape. She is in a state of utter despair, rejecting any possibility of comfort or peace. Her grief is so profound that she wishes for blindness, the death of her heart, and directs her anger towards the night, which she sees as complicit in the crime. The stanza emphasizes her sense of defilement and her belief that her body and heart are no longer worthy of her pure mind. It also serves to foreshadow her eventual suicide, driven by the feeling that she can no longer live with the shame and dishonor. The heavy use of apostrophe underscores her isolation and the directness of her pain.

The stanza is a powerful expression of trauma and a testament to the devastating impact of the rape on Lucrece's psyche. It effectively conveys her feelings of worthlessness, defilement, and utter hopelessness.