Stanza 258 - Explanation

Original Stanza

“O,” quoth Lucretius, “I did give that life
Which she too early and too late hath spilled.”
“Woe, woe,” quoth Collatine, “she was my wife,
I owed her, and ’tis mine that she hath killed.”
“My daughter” and “my wife” with clamours filled
The dispersed air, who, holding Lucrece’ life,
Answered their cries, “my daughter” and “my wife”.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Let's break down Stanza 258 from Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece:

Line-by-Line Breakdown:

• "O," quoth Lucretius, "I did give that life"

  • "O": An expression of grief or anguish.
  • "quoth Lucretius": "Said Lucretius" - This names the speaker. (Lucretius is Lucrece's father)
  • "I did give that life": Lucretius is acknowledging that he gave Lucrece her life. He implies responsibility or a deep sense of loss because her life has been unjustly taken.

• "Which she too early and too late hath spilled."

  • "Which": Refers to "that life."
  • "she": Refers to Lucrece.
  • "too early and too late": This is a paradox. It means both that Lucrece's death came too soon, and yet, it came at a time after she had already suffered the torment of the rape.
  • "hath spilled": "Has spilled," meaning lost or wasted. Lucretius mourns that his daughter, who was once alive, has "lost" that life, due to her death.

• “Woe, woe,” quoth Collatine, “she was my wife,"

  • "Woe, woe": Repeated expression of sorrow and grief.
  • "quoth Collatine": "Said Collatine" - Names the speaker. (Collatine is Lucrece's husband.)
  • "she was my wife": Collatine states his relationship to the deceased, and in doing so, asserts the nature of their bond and his pain.

• "I owed her, and ’tis mine that she hath killed.”

  • "I owed her": This is a complex statement. Collatine likely means he "owed" Lucrece love, loyalty, and protection. He feels a debt to her that he could not repay.
  • "and ’tis mine that she hath killed": This means that she has destroyed something of Collatine's, something valuable, namely their marital bond, and life. It suggests a sense of ownership and the devastation of her death. Collatine may be referring to the suicide.

• “My daughter” and “my wife” with clamours filled

  • "“My daughter” and “my wife”": The subject of the sentence, the words representing their relationship to Lucrece.
  • "with clamours": "Clamours" is plural, and it means a loud and confused noise of people, typically shouting.
  • "filled": The verb "filled" describes what the clamors did.

• The dispersed air, who, holding Lucrece’ life,

  • "The dispersed air": Metaphorically, the air which is receiving their words, and, by extension, the world, as though these cries of grief were being broadcast.
  • "who, holding Lucrece’ life,": The air metaphorically "holding Lucrece’s life," her life being taken away, implying how she is being taken away from the world. This further emphasizes the finality of her death.

• Answered their cries, “my daughter” and “my wife”.

  • "Answered their cries": This is a personification of the air; It implies a response, even though the response itself is just a repetition.
  • “my daughter” and “my wife”: The cries repeated, reinforcing the fact that she was both a daughter and a wife. It's a poignant echo, as the air is "answering" with Lucrece's own connections. The use of quotation marks suggests this is what Lucrece's spirit would say, if it could speak again.

Literary Devices:

• Personification: The "dispersed air" is given the ability to hold, and then "answer" their cries.
• Repetition: The phrase "my daughter" and "my wife" is repeated, emphasizing the loss and the shared grief. This repetition creates an effect of increasing lament. The "woe, woe" also is a form of repetition.
• Paradox: "too early and too late" creates a contrast, conveying the complex nature of Lucrece's death.
• Metaphor: The air can be viewed as a metaphor for the world.
• Imagery: The stanza paints a picture of grief and chaos through the use of sound (clamours, cries) and the visual image of the air.

Overall Meaning:

The stanza depicts the raw and devastating grief of Lucretius and Collatine over Lucrece's death. They express their individual relationships to her (father and husband) and their sense of loss. Lucretius acknowledges he gave Lucrece life, which has been "spilled." Collatine, the husband, feels responsible because he could not protect her. The repetition of "my daughter" and "my wife" intensifies the emotional impact, emphasizing the significance of Lucrece's roles in their lives. The air, "holding" and answering their cries, symbolizes the enduring echo of their pain. It serves as a reminder of the lasting impact of her death. This stanza captures the tragic aftermath of the rape and Lucrece's subsequent suicide. It emphasizes the profound sorrow, loss, and a deep-seated sense of betrayal and failure.