Stanza 123 - Explanation

Original Stanza

'The aged man that coffers-up his gold
Is plagued with cramps and gouts and painful fits;
And scarce hath eyes his treasure to behold,
But like still-pining Tantalus he sits,
And useless barns the harvest of his wits;
Having no other pleasure of his gain
But torment that it cannot cure his pain.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Okay, let's break down Stanza 123 of Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece line by line:

Line 1: 'The aged man that coffers-up his gold'

• "The aged man": A stereotype of an old miser.
• "that coffers-up his gold": "Coffers-up" means to hoard or store away in chests (coffers). This paints a picture of someone obsessively accumulating wealth.
• Literary Device: Imagery, emphasizing the act of hoarding.

Line 2: 'Is plagued with cramps and gouts and painful fits;'

• "Is plagued": Afflicted, burdened, suggesting the miser's wealth doesn't bring happiness, but suffering.
• "with cramps and gouts and painful fits": Specific physical ailments associated with old age and, metaphorically, the stress and anxiety of guarding wealth. Gout was particularly associated with the rich due to rich foods, meaning more of a symbolic burden of his lifestyle.
• Literary Device: Specific Detail, creates vividness, and establishes a contrast between the expected comfort of wealth and the reality of suffering. Also, Alliteration ("painful fits") adds emphasis.

Line 3: 'And scarce hath eyes his treasure to behold,'

• "And scarce hath eyes": Almost blind, either literally due to age or figuratively because his focus is so consumed by his treasure that he can barely appreciate it.
• "his treasure to behold": He can't even properly enjoy the sight of his wealth.
• Literary Device: Irony. The man possesses wealth but is unable to enjoy it, highlighting the futility of hoarding.

Line 4: 'But like still-pining Tantalus he sits,'

• "But like still-pining Tantalus he sits": A classical allusion to the Greek myth of Tantalus, who was punished in the underworld by being forever within reach of food and water but unable to partake of them. "Still-pining" means constantly longing.
• Literary Device: Classical Allusion. This is a powerful comparison, elevating the miser's suffering to a legendary scale. Also, Simile ("like") creates a direct comparison to Tantalus.

Line 5: 'And useless barns the harvest of his wits;'

• "And useless barns": The barns here are symbolic. Like the barns of a farmer are filled with harvest, so too this man's barns are filled with the harvest of his labor and intelligence.
• "the harvest of his wits": A Metaphor. "Harvest of his wits" means the result of his intellectual efforts, all the things he has accomplished and achieved through his intelligence.
• Literary Device: Metaphor. The barns filled with harvest suggest the man has wasted his intelligence on merely acquiring treasure.

Line 6: 'Having no other pleasure of his gain'

• "Having no other pleasure of his gain": States directly that the man gets no genuine enjoyment from his wealth.
• Literary Device: None. Clear and concise statement of the predicament.

Line 7: 'But torment that it cannot cure his pain.'

• "But torment that it cannot cure his pain": The final, damning indictment. The wealth, instead of relieving suffering, becomes a source of it. It cannot alleviate the physical and existential pain of his existence.
• Literary Device: Irony and Paradox. The expected use of wealth (to alleviate pain) is reversed, creating a painful irony. The fact that the miser's wealth is a torment is a paradox.

Overall Meaning:

This stanza argues that the obsessive pursuit and hoarding of wealth is ultimately a futile and self-destructive endeavor. The miser, despite possessing riches, is miserable. He is physically ill, can't appreciate his wealth, and is perpetually tormented by the fear of losing it or the inability to truly enjoy it. The allusion to Tantalus reinforces the idea that the wealth is tantalizingly close but ultimately unattainable in terms of providing genuine happiness. The stanza emphasizes the idea that true fulfillment comes from something other than material possessions, suggesting that the man has wasted his life and intellect in pursuit of a goal that ultimately leaves him empty and in pain. The wealth, instead of being a source of comfort, becomes another source of suffering. The point is that the miser's obsessive pursuit of wealth has not brought him happiness or contentment, but rather misery and torment.