The Rape of Lucrece and the History of Shame
The Rape of Lucrece and the History of Shame
Author(s): Anna CzarnowusSubject(s): Social Sciences, Language and Literature Studies, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Media studies, Criminal Law, Studies of Literature, Communication studies, Philology, British Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: The Rape of Lucrece; shame; history of emotions; classical reception; medieval and Renaissance emotions
Summary/Abstract: Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece can be discussed in the context of interpreting shame in antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In this poem shame has legal and political consequences, since its social context matters and the external world is transformed by the emotion in question. Communal justice is a response to this shame and death. From the feminist perspective, which radically differs from St Augustine’s blaming Lucrece, she gains control by feeling shame and committing suicide. There is also a humoral background to the female shame she feels.
Journal: Rocznik Komparatystyczny
- Issue Year: 2024
- Issue No: 15
- Page Range: 117-131
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English
