by
First published 2022
This scholarly preservation presents Shakespeare's narrative poem telling the story of Lucrece, a virtuous Roman noblewoman whose honor becomes the target of royal lust. When Sextus Tarquinius, son of the Roman king, forces himself upon her in her own home while her husband Collatinus is away at war, Lucrece faces an impossible choice between silence and the destruction that truth will bring. The poem follows her internal struggle as she weighs duty against shame, virtue against survival. After revealing the assault to her family, Lucrece takes her own life, sparking events that will topple the Roman monarchy and establish the Republic. Shakespeare transforms this classical tale into an exploration of honor, power, and the price of speaking truth in a world that punishes victims alongside perpetrators.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, poetry, academic, classical-studies
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Rome, Roman Republic
Period: Classical Antiquity
152 pages · Paperback · Legare Street Press
Content warnings: sexual-assault