Editing Lucretia (section)

==In literature and music==
[[File:Lucretia MR.jpg|thumb|[[Marcantonio Raimondi]]'s 1534 engraving of her suicide]]

Lucretia became an important embodiment of political and literary ideals for different authors throughout the ages, specifically because "stories of sexual violence against women serve as foundational myths of Western culture."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Glendinning|first=Eleanor|date=June 2013|title=Reinventing Lucretia: Rape, Suicide and Redemption from Classical Antiquity to the Medieval Era|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12138-013-0322-y|journal=International Journal of the Classical Tradition|volume=20|issue=1–2|pages=61–82|doi=10.1007/s12138-013-0322-y| s2cid=161204298 |issn=1073-0508}}</ref>

[[Livy]]'s account in ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita Libri]]'' (c. 25–8 BC) is the earliest surviving full historical treatment. In his account, her husband has boasted of the virtue of his wife to Tarquin and others. Livy contrasts the virtue of the Roman Lucretia, who remained in her room weaving, with the Etruscan ladies who feasted with friends. Ovid recounts the story of Lucretia in Book II of his ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', published in 8 AD, concentrating on the bold over-reaching character of Tarquin. Later, [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]] made use of the figure of Lucretia in ''[[The City of God]]'' (published 426 AD) to defend the honour of Christian women who had been raped in the sack of Rome and had not committed suicide.

The story of Lucretia was a popular moral tale in the later Middle Ages.  Lucretia appears to [[Dante]] in the section of Limbo, reserved for the nobles of Rome and other "virtuous pagans", in Canto IV of the [[Inferno (Dante)|''Inferno'']]. [[Christine de Pizan]] used Lucretia, just as St. Augustine of Hippo did, in her ''City of Ladies'', defending a woman's sanctity.

The myth is recounted in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[The Legend of Good Women]]'', and it follows a similar storyline to Livy's. Lucretia calls for her father and husband, but Chaucer's tale also has her call for her mother and attendants as well, whereas Livy's has both her father and husband bring a friend as witness. The tale also deviates from Livy's account, as it begins with her husband coming home to surprise her, rather than the men placing a bet on the virtue of their wives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/English/GoodWomen.php#anchor_Toc186791816|title=The Legend of Good Women|last=Chaucer|first=Geoffery|date=2008|website=Poetry in Translation}}</ref>[[File:Rembrandt van Rijn, Lucretia, 1664, NGA 83.jpg|alt=This painting follows the tradition of depicting this tragic Roman heroine clutching the dagger she will eventually kill herself with.|thumb|[[Lucretia (Rembrandt, 1664)|Lucretia]], by [[Rembrandt]] (1664). This painting follows the likes of other iconic depictions: Lucretia clutching the dagger moments before she takes her own life. |left]][[John Gower]]'s ''[[Confessio Amantis]]'' (Book VII),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/peck-gower-confessio-amantis-book-7|title=Confessio Amantis|last=Gower|first=John|date=2004|website=Rochester}}</ref> and [[John Lydgate]]'s ''[[Fall of Princes]]'' recount the myth of Lucretia. Gower's work is a collection of narrative poems. In Book VII, he tells the "Tale of the Rape of Lucrece." Lydgate's work is a long poem containing stories and myths about various kings and princes who fell from power. It follows their lives from their rise into power and their fall into adversity. Lydgate's poem mentions the fall of Tarquin, the rape and suicide of Lucretia, and her speech prior to death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/fallofprincesedi00lydguoft/fallofprincesedi00lydguoft_djvu.txt|title=Full Text of "Fall of Princes, edited by Henrey Bergen"|last=Lydgate|first=John|date=1923|website=Internet Archive}}</ref>

Lucretia's rape and suicide is also the subject of [[William Shakespeare]]'s 1594 long poem ''[[The Rape of Lucrece]]'', which draws extensively on Ovid's treatment of the story;<ref>Shakespeare's Poems: Venus and Adonis, ''The Rape of Lucrece and the Shorter Poems'', ed. by Katherine Duncan Jones (Arden Shakespeare, 3rd edn., 2007), 'Introduction', passim.</ref> he also mentions her in ''[[Titus Andronicus]]'', in ''[[As You Like It]]'', and in ''[[Twelfth Night]],'' wherein Malvolio authenticates his fateful letter by spotting Olivia's Lucrece seal. Shakespeare also alludes to her in ''[[Macbeth]]'', and in ''[[Cymbeline]]'' he further refers to the story, though without mentioning Lucretia by name. Shakespeare's poem, based on the rape of Lucretia, draws on the beginning of the Livy's account of the incident. The poem begins with a bet between husbands about the virtuousness of their wives. Shakespeare draws on the idea of Lucretia as a moral agent, as Livy did, when he explores his characters' response to death and her unwillingness to yield to her rapist. A direct excerpt from Livy is used when Shakespeare prefaces his poem with a brief prose called "Argument". This is the internal deliberation Lucrece suffered from, following the rape.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Metzger|first=Mary Janell|date=2016|title=Epistemic Injustice and the Rape of Lucrece|journal=Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature|edition=2|volume=49|issue=2 |pages=19–34|doi=10.1353/mos.2016.a621126 }}</ref>

[[Niccolò Machiavelli]]'s comedy [[The Mandrake|''La Mandragola'']] is loosely based on the Lucretia story.

She is also mentioned in the poem "[[Appius and Virginia]]" by [[John Webster]] and [[Thomas Heywood]], which includes the following lines:

{{blockquote|<poem>Two fair, but ladies most infortunate,
Have in their ruins rais'd declining Rome,
Lucretia and [[Verginia|Virginia]], both renown'd
For chastity.<ref>John Webster ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=w_5ADgAAQBAJ&dq=%22ladies+most+infortunate%22&pg=PT171 Appius and Virginia]'' 5.3.224</ref></poem>}}

[[Thomas Heywood]]'s play ''The Rape of Lucretia'' dates from 1607. The subject also enjoyed a revival in the mid twentieth century; [[André Obey]]'s 1931 play ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Le Viol de Lucrèce|fr}}'' was adapted by librettist [[Ronald Duncan]] for ''[[The Rape of Lucretia]]'', a 1946 opera by [[Benjamin Britten]] which premiered at Glyndebourne. [[Ernst Krenek]] set [[Emmet Lavery]]'s [[libretto]] ''[[Tarquin (opera)|Tarquin]]'' (1940), a version in a contemporary setting.

[[Jacques Gallot]] (died {{circa|1690}}) composed the allemandes "[[Lucrèce]]" and "[[Tarquin (Gallot)|Tarquin]]" for baroque lute.

In [[Samuel Richardson]]'s 1740 novel ''[[Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded|Pamela]]'', Mr. B. cites the story of Lucretia as a reason why Pamela ought not fear for her reputation, should he rape her. Pamela quickly sets him straight with a better reading of the story. Colonial Mexican poet [[Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz]] also mentions Lucretia in her poem "Redondillas," a commentary on prostitution and who is to blame.

In 1769, doctor [[Juan Ramis]] wrote a tragedy in [[Menorca]] entitled ''Lucrecia''. The play is written in the [[Catalan language]] using a neoclassical style and is a significant work of the eighteenth century written in this language.

In 1932, the play ''Lucrece'' was produced on Broadway, starring legendary actress [[Katharine Cornell]] in the title part. It was mostly performed in [[pantomime]].

In 1989, a song entitled "The Rape of Lucretia" was released by the Scottish musician [[Momus (musician)|Momus]].

In [[Donna Leon]]'s 2009 Venetian novel, ''About Face'', Franca Marinello refers to the tale of Tarquin and Lucrezia, as recounted in [[Ovid]]'s ''Fasti'' (Book II, for February 24, "Regifugium") to explain her actions to Commissario Brunetti.

American thrash metal band [[Megadeth]] used the name Lucretia as the title for the sixth track on their 1990 release ''[[Rust In Peace]]''. The song doesn’t have a direct connection to the story of Lucretia, rather Lucretia acting as a muse for Megadeth frontman [[Dave Mustaine]] reaching sobriety after a heavy drug and alcohol addiction during the 1980s.