Stanza 207 - Explanation

Original Stanza

To this well-painted piece is Lucrece come,
To find a face where all distress is stelled.
Many she sees where cares have carved some,
But none where all distress and dolour dwelled,
Till she despairing Hecuba beheld,
Staring on Priam’s wounds with her old eyes,
Which bleeding under Pyrrhus’ proud foot lies.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Okay, let's break down Stanza 207 of Shakespeare's 'The Rape of Lucrece':

Line-by-Line Breakdown:

• Line 1: "To this well-painted piece is Lucrece come,"

  • Meaning: Lucrece has approached a painting. The painting is described as "well-painted," implying it's a skilled and perhaps emotionally charged artwork.
  • Literary Devices: None immediately obvious, but the phrase sets the scene and emphasizes the artificiality/representation of suffering, a contrast to Lucrece's very real suffering.

• Line 2: "To find a face where all distress is stelled."

  • Meaning: She's looking for a face within the painting that embodies complete distress. "Stelled" means fixed, settled, or imprinted. Lucrece wants to find a representation of complete and utter anguish. This may be a metaphor comparing the emotional distress of the painting to something from the stars.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Metaphor: Distress is being compared to a fixed or settled object.
    • Word Choice: "Stelled" is an unusual and poetic word that adds to the intensity of the image.

• Line 3: "Many she sees where cares have carved some,"

  • Meaning: She sees many faces in the painting that show signs of worry and hardship ("cares have carved some"). This suggests that the painting is complex and populated with figures who have experienced suffering. However, these people have only felt "some" pain.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Personification: "Cares have carved" gives human-like actions to abstract anxieties.
    • Contrast: Implicitly contrasts the partial suffering of these figures with the complete suffering she's searching for.

• Line 4: "But none where all distress and dolour dwelled,"

  • Meaning: But she doesn't find anyone whose face truly embodies the totality of suffering and grief ("dolour"). None of the other faces seem to embody complete and intense grief.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Alliteration: the 'd' sounds in "distress" and "dolour" emphasize the intensity of these emotions.
    • Emphasis: Use of "all" suggests a complete or comprehensive grief.

• Line 5: "Till she despairing Hecuba beheld,"

  • Meaning: Until she notices Hecuba, who is in despair. This marks a turning point. She finds the personification of complete grief.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Epithet: "Despairing Hecuba" - a description of Hecuba through one of her qualities.
    • Allusion: Reference to Hecuba, queen of Troy.

• Line 6: "Staring on Priam’s wounds with her old eyes,"

  • Meaning: Hecuba is staring at the wounds of her husband, King Priam, with her aged eyes. The image is immediately powerful, depicting the depth of loss and trauma.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Imagery: Creates a visual image of the aged Queen staring at the wounds of her husband.
    • Allusion: Continues the reference to characters from the Trojan war, specifically the death of King Priam.

• Line 7: "Which bleeding under Pyrrhus’ proud foot lies."

  • Meaning: These wounds are bleeding and lying under the foot of Pyrrhus (also known as Neoptolemus), the son of Achilles and a brutal warrior. The final line emphasizes the humiliation and complete defeat of Priam and, by extension, Hecuba.
  • Literary Devices:
    • Imagery: Bleeding wounds under a foot create a powerful image of violence and desecration.
    • Allusion: Continues the reference to the Trojan war.
    • Juxtaposition: Puts together a tragic image of death and the "proud foot" of the violent Pyrrhus, highlighting the power dynamic.
    • Metonymy: "Proud foot" is used as a metonymy of Pyrrhus himself.

Overall Meaning of the Stanza:

Lucrece, grappling with her own trauma of rape, looks at a painting to find an image that reflects the depth of her suffering. She sees many figures in distress, but none that seem to capture the entirety of the pain she feels. Finally, she discovers Hecuba in the painting, staring at her murdered husband, King Priam, lying bleeding under the foot of their enemy. Hecuba, a symbol of ultimate loss and grief due to the Trojan War, provides Lucrece with a mirror for her own devastating emotional state. The stanza suggests that Lucrece finds a connection and a validation of her own suffering in the image of Hecuba's tragedy. The image of Hecuba is especially tragic because it combines the death of a husband with the image of his humiliation. Lucrece feels she can empathize with Hecuba and that her own distress might be validated by someone else.

Key Themes and Significance:

• The Power of Representation: The stanza highlights how art can be a mirror for human experience, particularly in times of suffering. Lucrece is seeking a visual representation of her own internal turmoil.
• Empathy and Connection: Despite the difference in their situations, Lucrece finds a connection with Hecuba's grief, suggesting a universal aspect of human suffering.
• The Depth of Grief: The vivid and brutal imagery emphasizes the profound depth of grief that Lucrece is experiencing and seeks to identify with.
• The Nature of Trauma: The allusion to Hecuba, a woman who has witnessed and endured immense loss, suggests that trauma can leave lasting scars and fundamentally alter a person's perception of the world.
• Foreshadowing: The violence and horror of Priam's death under Pyrrhus's foot may foreshadow the violence and dishonor Lucrece herself has suffered.

In essence, the stanza establishes a thematic parallel between Lucrece's personal tragedy and the epic tragedy of the Trojan War, using Hecuba as a visual representation of the profound grief and despair Lucrece is grappling with.