Stanza 70 - Explanation

Original Stanza

'Thus I forestall thee, if thou mean to chide:
Thy beauty hath ensnared thee to this night,
Where thou with patience must my will abide;
My will that marks thee for my earth's delight,
Which I to conquer sought with all my might;
But as reproof and reason beat it dead,
By thy bright beauty was it newly bred.

🔍 Line-by-Line Analysis

Line-by-Line Breakdown:

• "Thus I forestall thee, if thou mean to chide:"

  • Forestall: To prevent or obstruct by taking action ahead of time.
  • Chide: To scold or rebuke.
  • Meaning: "So, I'm getting ahead of your reaction. If you intend to scold or blame me, let me explain why." He's preemptively justifying his actions to Lucrece.

• "Thy beauty hath ensnared thee to this night,"

  • Ensnared: Trapped or caught, as in a snare.
  • Meaning: "Your beauty is the reason you are in this situation tonight; it is the reason I am here." He blames her appearance for his lust and the impending rape. This is a classic, and deeply troubling, example of victim-blaming.

• "Where thou with patience must my will abide;"

  • Abide: To endure, accept, or comply with.
  • Meaning: "Therefore, you must patiently endure my will" implying she must let him do what he wants.

• "My will that marks thee for my earth's delight,"

  • Will: His desire, his intention, specifically his lustful desire.
  • Earth's delight: A sensual, physical pleasure; a temporary, earthly gratification.
  • Meaning: "My desire chooses you to be my earthly pleasure, something that gives me physical satisfaction." He is objectifying Lucrece, reducing her to a source of his sexual gratification.

• "Which I to conquer sought with all my might;"

  • Conquer: To overcome, subdue, or take by force.
  • Meaning: "I tried with all my strength to suppress this desire, to master myself," he claims. Note the implication that he tried to resist, but that his efforts ultimately failed.

• "But as reproof and reason beat it dead,"

  • Reproof: Rebuke or disapproval.
  • Reason: The ability to think, understand, and make judgments based on logic.
  • Beat it dead: Killed or extinguished it.
  • Meaning: "But just when my conscience (reproof) and logical thinking (reason) had managed to kill this desire..."

• "By thy bright beauty was it newly bred."

  • Newly Bred: Born, created, or brought into existence again.
  • Meaning: "...Your bright beauty caused it to be reborn." Again, he directly places the blame for his lust on Lucrece's beauty.

Overall Meaning and Literary Devices:

This stanza is a crucial moment in Collatine's justification for his actions. Collatine presents a twisted, self-serving argument.

• The overall meaning of the stanza is that Collatine blames Lucrece for his lust and the impending rape. He attempts to absolve himself of responsibility by claiming that he tried to resist, but her beauty was too powerful to overcome. He objectifies her, reducing her to a source of physical pleasure, and insists that she must passively accept his will.

Literary Devices:

• Victim-blaming: The most prominent device is the consistent blame placed on Lucrece for Collatine's own desires and actions.
• Personification: "Reproof and reason beat it dead" gives human qualities (the ability to beat) to abstract concepts.
• Euphemism: "Earth's delight" is a euphemism for sexual gratification, softening the harshness of his intention, at least to his own ears.
• Dramatic Irony: The reader/audience knows the horror of the rape that is about to occur, making Collatine's justifications all the more repulsive and revealing.
• Alliteration: "bright beauty" is an example of alliteration, which adds emphasis to the line.

In essence, this stanza is a chilling portrayal of how a perpetrator rationalizes his actions and attempts to shift the blame onto the victim. It highlights the themes of lust, power, and the abuse of innocence that are central to the poem. Collatine's words are a web of lies, excuses, and self-deception.