“Poor broken glass, I often did behold
In thy sweet semblance my old age new born;
But now that fair fresh mirror, dim and old,
Shows me a bare-boned death by time outworn.
O, from thy cheeks my image thou hast torn,
And shivered all the beauty of my glass,
That I no more can see what once I was!
Let's break down Stanza 252 from Shakespeare's "The Rape of Lucrece," line by line:
"Poor broken glass, I often did behold": This introduces the speaker (Collatine, Lucrece's husband) comparing Lucrece to "broken glass." This is a metaphor, immediately setting a tone of loss and destruction. The use of "poor" humanizes the glass, making the reader feel pity. "I often did behold" suggests a past of looking at Lucrece with fondness and care.
"In thy sweet semblance my old age new born;": "Semblance" means appearance or likeness. Collatine saw in Lucrece's youthful beauty a reflection that rejuvenated his own aging. He found a connection to youth in her. This line is a metaphor with the idea that Lucrece's youth was a source of renewal, offering him a glimpse of an age he had left behind.
"But now that fair fresh mirror, dim and old,": "Mirror" is another metaphor for Lucrece. "Dim and old" contrasts sharply with the previous line's "sweet semblance." The use of "but now" signals a change, indicating the transformation of the speaker's outlook due to the act of rape.
"Shows me a bare-boned death by time outworn.": This is a striking metaphor and personification. "Bare-boned death" represents the end, a reminder of mortality. The "time outworn" reinforces the passage of time. Collatine sees his own mortality in her changed face/body, and she now appears as death to him.
"O, from thy cheeks my image thou hast torn,": Here, Collatine directly addresses Lucrece. "Image" refers to the youthful reflection he once saw in her. He feels that his reflection of youth is now gone. This is an apostrophe, a direct address to an absent person or personified thing.
"And shivered all the beauty of my glass,": Continuing the glass metaphor, her beauty is shattered. This is another metaphor. The destruction of the glass mirrors the destruction of their relationship and her former beauty.
"That I no more can see what once I was!": The final line emphasizes the irreversible loss. Collatine can no longer see his youth reflected in Lucrece. This is a powerful statement of despair and the profound impact of the rape.
Overall Meaning:
The stanza conveys Collatine's overwhelming grief and despair over the violation of Lucrece. He mourns the loss of the idealized image he held of her, an image which represented his own connection to youth and beauty. He equates her ruined appearance to a shattered mirror, in which his own future is now bleak and foreshadows death. The stanza is saturated with the pain of betrayal, loss, and the irreversible damage inflicted by the act of rape. It underscores the tragic disruption of their connection and the devastation caused by Tarquin's actions. The imagery vividly paints a picture of shattered beauty and the bleak vision of a future dominated by the awareness of mortality.