<i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>
With an emphasis on the religious figuration of its heroine’s chaste body, the present essay explores the political dynamics of <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>. The poem draws on Roman religion and Christianity: Lucrece is an emblem of purity, with echoes of the <i>flaminica&l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/426 |
| _version_ | 1818136775787282432 |
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| author | Feisal G. Mohamed |
| author_facet | Feisal G. Mohamed |
| author_sort | Feisal G. Mohamed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With an emphasis on the religious figuration of its heroine’s chaste body, the present essay explores the political dynamics of <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>. The poem draws on Roman religion and Christianity: Lucrece is an emblem of purity, with echoes of the <i>flaminica</i> or Vestal virgins, and her spotlessness anticipates Christ’s. Seeing these qualities allows us to engage the poem’s gender dynamics and its politics, with both of these being centered on issues of property. While <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> has been enlisted as an artifact of late Elizabethan republican culture, its depiction of the expulsion of the Tarquins need not lead us to that conclusion. It is nonetheless a product of the political anxieties of Elizabeth’s final years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:45:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a889064cdd24a32bc44482927a56fdd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T09:45:46Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a889064cdd24a32bc44482927a56fdd2022-12-22T01:12:34ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-07-0110742610.3390/rel10070426rel10070426<i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>Feisal G. Mohamed0The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016-4309, USAWith an emphasis on the religious figuration of its heroine’s chaste body, the present essay explores the political dynamics of <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>. The poem draws on Roman religion and Christianity: Lucrece is an emblem of purity, with echoes of the <i>flaminica</i> or Vestal virgins, and her spotlessness anticipates Christ’s. Seeing these qualities allows us to engage the poem’s gender dynamics and its politics, with both of these being centered on issues of property. While <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> has been enlisted as an artifact of late Elizabethan republican culture, its depiction of the expulsion of the Tarquins need not lead us to that conclusion. It is nonetheless a product of the political anxieties of Elizabeth’s final years.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/426Shakespeare<i>The Rape of Lucrece</i>republicanism<i>raison d’état</i>religionpropertybody |
| spellingShingle | Feisal G. Mohamed <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> Religions Shakespeare <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> republicanism <i>raison d’état</i> religion property body |
| title | <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> |
| title_full | <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> |
| title_fullStr | <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> |
| title_short | <i>Raison d’état</i>, Religion, and the Body in <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> |
| title_sort | i raison d etat i religion and the body in i the rape of lucrece i |
| topic | Shakespeare <i>The Rape of Lucrece</i> republicanism <i>raison d’état</i> religion property body |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/7/426 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT feisalgmohamed iraisondetatireligionandthebodyinitherapeoflucrecei |