Stanza 238 - Explanation

Original Stanza

Lo, here the hopeless merchant of this loss,
With head declined and voice dammed up with woe,
With sad set eyes and wretched arms across,
From lips new-waxen pale begins to blow
The grief away that stops his answer so.
But wretched as he is, he strives in vain;
What he breathes out his breath drinks up again.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Okay, let's break down stanza 238 of Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece line by line, identify literary devices, and then summarize the overall meaning.

Line-by-Line Breakdown:

• "Lo, here the hopeless merchant of this loss,"

  • Lo: An archaic interjection meaning "behold" or "look." This immediately draws attention to the subject.
  • Hopeless merchant of this loss: This is a metaphor. Collatine, Lucrece's husband, is not literally a merchant. The loss of Lucrece, her honor and her life, is treated as a valuable item he has lost. He is "hopeless" in recovering this loss.
  • Literary Device: Metaphor

• "With head declined and voice dammed up with woe,"

  • Head declined: Indicates grief, shame, and despair. His head is bowed in defeat.
  • Voice dammed up with woe: His grief is so overwhelming that it blocks his ability to speak. "Dammed up" is a vivid image of something powerful (his voice, emotions) being forcefully contained.
  • Literary Device: Imagery

• "With sad set eyes and wretched arms across,"

  • Sad set eyes: Implies a fixed, unwavering gaze of sorrow. "Set" suggests a firmness, reflecting the permanence of his grief.
  • Wretched arms across: Arms crossed are often a gesture of defensiveness, closure, or simply misery. The adjective "wretched" emphasizes the depth of his suffering.
  • Literary Device: Imagery

• "From lips new-waxen pale begins to blow"

  • Lips new-waxen pale: "New-waxen pale" is a striking image suggesting a deathly pallor. "Waxen" evokes the image of a wax figure or a corpse, highlighting his shock and near-death experience.
  • Begins to blow: He's trying to force out words, trying to articulate his grief.
  • Literary Device: Imagery

• "The grief away that stops his answer so."

  • The grief away that stops his answer so: He's attempting to verbally express his grief, hoping to alleviate it, but it's also the grief that's preventing him from speaking clearly or coherently. The grief itself is the obstacle. This emphasizes the paralyzing nature of intense sorrow.

• "But wretched as he is, he strives in vain;"

  • But wretched as he is: Reinforces the intensity of his suffering.
  • He strives in vain: Highlights the futility of his efforts. He is making an effort to speak, but his attempt is ultimately fruitless. This emphasizes the overwhelming power of grief.
  • Literary Device: Alliteration ("strives in vain")

• "What he breathes out his breath drinks up again."

  • What he breathes out his breath drinks up again: This is a powerful and somewhat paradoxical image. His breath, which should be carrying his words and grief outward, is instead being absorbed back into himself. This suggests a cycle of trapped sorrow, where his attempts to express himself are thwarted. It's a visual representation of suffocation.
  • Literary Device: Paradox, Personification (breath "drinks up")

Overall Meaning:

This stanza describes Collatine's initial attempts to respond to the tragedy that has befallen him and his family. He is overwhelmed by grief, so much so that he is physically affected. His body language (head bowed, arms crossed) communicates his despair. He tries to speak, but his sorrow is so profound that it stifles his voice, rendering his efforts futile. The final lines emphasize the paralyzing and all-consuming nature of his grief; he cannot even articulate his sorrow, as his very breath seems to be choked by it. The stanza depicts a man utterly consumed and immobilized by loss.

The stanza does a brilliant job of illustrating the almost physical manifestation of grief and its power to silence and immobilize. Shakespeare uses vivid imagery and metaphorical language to portray the depth of Collatine's despair.