'Then, childish fear, avaunt! debating, die!
Respect and reason, wait on wrinkled age!
My heart shall never countermand mine eye:
Sad pause and deep regard beseem the sage;
My part is youth, and beats these from the stage:
Desire my pilot is, beauty my prize;
Then who fears sinking where such treasure lies?'
This stanza from Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece marks a crucial turning point in Lucrece's internal conflict. Let's break it down line by line:
"Then, childish fear, avaunt! debating, die!": This is a forceful opening, rejecting both fear ("childish fear") and indecision ("debating"). "Avaunt!" is a commanding interjection meaning "get away!" This line employs apostrophe (direct address to abstract concepts) and personification (giving human qualities to fear and debating). Lucrece is actively silencing her anxieties and rational doubts.
"Respect and reason, wait on wrinkled age!": Here, Lucrece dismisses respect and reason as virtues belonging to older people. This is a form of antithesis, contrasting youth's passion with age's caution. She's rejecting the wisdom associated with age in favor of youthful impulsiveness.
"My heart shall never countermand mine eye:": This line establishes a crucial conflict – the heart (emotion) and the eye (desire, perception). Lucrece declares that her heart (representing reason and morality) will not oppose her desires as perceived by her eyes. This shows a subjugation of reason to passion.
"Sad pause and deep regard beseem the sage;": This line continues the antithesis, contrasting the contemplative actions of a wise person ("sad pause and deep regard") with her own impulsive behavior. "Beseem" means "is appropriate for." The use of "sage" emphasizes the rejection of wisdom she's choosing to ignore.
"My part is youth, and beats these from the stage:": This line uses a theatrical metaphor ("stage") to illustrate Lucrece's forceful rejection of reason and caution. "Beats these from the stage" signifies the forceful expulsion of those qualities, highlighting the dominance of her youthful passion.
"Desire my pilot is, beauty my prize;": This line clearly states her motivations. Desire is now her guide ("pilot"), and beauty is her ultimate goal ("prize"). This is a powerful declaration of her yielding to temptation.
"Then who fears sinking where such treasure lies?": This concluding line rhetorically asks who would fear danger ("sinking") when such a valuable reward ("treasure") is at stake. It's a rhetorical question designed to justify her actions and further dismiss her anxieties. The use of "treasure" elevates beauty to a highly desirable object, worth any risk.
Overall Meaning:
This stanza reveals Lucrece's decision to abandon her reason and morality in favor of her passionate desire for Tarquin. She actively rejects the wisdom and caution of older generations, embracing the impulsiveness of youth. This is a significant moment as she consciously chooses to prioritize her physical desire over her moral integrity, setting the stage for the tragic events to follow. Shakespeare uses various literary devices to powerfully convey Lucrece's internal struggle and her ultimate surrender to temptation. The stanza is characterized by strong self-justification and a deliberate dismissal of any counter-arguments.