Sunday, March 16, 2025

 

Today’s Totally Random Lines

 

When they had sworn to this advised doom,

They did conclude to bear dead Lucrece hence,

To show her bleeding body thorough Rome,

And so to publish Tarquin's foul offense:

Which being done with speedy diligence,

   The Romans plausibly did give consent

   To Tarquin's everlasting banishment.

 

Lucrece                  Lines 1,849 – 1,855

Narrator


These are the last lines of this long poem/story, and they speak of Tarquin being banished for the crime of raping Lucrece. I’m not sure what the typical Roman sentence for rape was, but it seems like Tarquin’s getting off easy here. Lucrece, in case you didn’t know, killed herself in shame a few stanzas back.

It’s a fairly depressing poem, isn’t it. 

 


Fairly depressing?!

I’m ready to kill myself here!

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