Stanza 162 - Explanation

Original Stanza

'Come, Philomel, that sing'st of ravishment,
Make thy sad grove in my dishevell'd hair:
As the dank earth weeps at thy languishment,
So I at each sad strain will strain a tear,
And with deep groans the diapason bear;
For burden-wise I'll hum on Tarquin still,
While thou on Tereus descant'st better skill.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Let's break down this stanza from Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece line by line, then analyze the overall meaning and literary devices:

• "Come, Philomel, that sing'st of ravishment":

  • Philomel: This is a reference to the mythological figure Philomela, who was raped by her brother-in-law Tereus. After the rape, Tereus cut out her tongue to prevent her from telling anyone. She wove a tapestry to tell her sister, Procne, what had happened. Procne then killed her own son, Itys, and served him to Tereus for dinner. The gods then transformed Philomela into a nightingale.
  • "that sing'st of ravishment": The nightingale's song is traditionally interpreted as a lament, a mournful cry about her horrific experience. This is personification, as the nightingale, a bird, is given the human quality of singing about a specific traumatic event.

• "Make thy sad grove in my dishevell'd hair":

  • "sad grove": This evokes the image of the woods or a secluded, mournful place associated with Philomel.
  • "my dishevell'd hair": Lucrece's loosened, tangled hair is a symbol of her emotional distress and loss of order. Her hair is wild and uncontrolled, mirroring her inner turmoil after the rape.
  • The line is a plea to Philomel to dwell in her hair, meaning Lucrece wants to embody Philomel's sorrow and make it visible.

• "As the dank earth weeps at thy languishment":

  • "dank earth": The wet, heavy earth is associated with sadness and mourning. "Dank" suggests a depressing, cold, and unpleasant environment.
  • "weeps at thy languishment": This uses pathetic fallacy, attributing human emotions (weeping) to nature (the earth). The earth's moisture (dew, rain) is presented as tears shed in sympathy with Philomel's suffering. Languishment means a state of weakening and suffering.

• "So I at each sad strain will strain a tear":

  • This line draws a direct parallel between the earth's response to Philomel and Lucrece's own. Each time Philomel sings a sorrowful note ("sad strain"), Lucrece will force herself to cry ("strain a tear").
  • It emphasizes the depth of Lucrece's grief, aligning it with the natural world's mourning.

• "And with deep groans the diapason bear":

  • "diapason": In music, a diapason is a fundamental, foundational tone or chord.
  • "bear": Here, bear means to carry or support.
  • Lucrece says that she will accompany Philomel’s song with her own "deep groans" to match the depth and breadth of the music. Lucrece is saying that her lament will provide the fundamental base note for the music of grief.

• "For burden-wise I'll hum on Tarquin still":

  • "burden-wise": In music, the "burden" is a refrain, a repeated line or phrase, often carrying the main theme of the song.
  • "hum on Tarquin still": Lucrece will continuously repeat the name of Tarquin in her lament, making him the constant subject of her grief. This implies that her grief is directly linked to and caused by Tarquin.

• "While thou on Tereus descant'st better skill":

  • "descant'st": In music, a descant is a melody sung or played above the main melody. It's an embellishment or variation.
  • "Tereus": Philomel (as the nightingale) is better equipped to sing about Tereus (her rapist) because she is the original victim. Lucrece implies that Philomel can express the horror of rape more fully and accurately.
  • "better skill": She acknowledges Philomel's greater ability to articulate the pain of rape. This isn't to diminish her own suffering but to recognize the unique weight of the original trauma.

Overall Meaning:

In this stanza, Lucrece expresses the profound depth of her grief and shame following the rape by comparing herself to the mythological figure of Philomel. She invites Philomel to inhabit her hair and lead the lament, indicating Lucrece’s overwhelming despair. She establishes an equivalence between Philomel's experience and her own and joins her voice in the mournful chorus. She will provide the foundation for a dirge centered on Tarquin, whose name will be perpetually repeated in her grief, while acknowledging Philomel’s unique capacity to articulate the unspeakable horror inflicted by Tereus. The stanza emphasizes the shared experience of violation and the power of lamentation as a form of expression.

Literary Devices:

• Allusion: The stanza is heavily reliant on allusion to the myth of Philomela and Tereus.
• Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or animals (e.g., the earth weeps, Philomel sings).
• Pathetic Fallacy: Attributing human emotions to nature (e.g., the dank earth weeps).
• Metaphor: Comparing Lucrece's hair to a "sad grove."
• Musical Imagery: Using musical terms like "diapason," "burden," and "descant" to describe the lament and structure her grief.
• Repetition: The implied repetition of Tarquin's name reinforces his role as the source of her suffering.
• Imagery: Vivid descriptions create a sense of sorrow and suffering (e.g., "dank earth," "dishevell'd hair").
• Apostrophe: Addressing Philomel directly ("Come, Philomel").