# Lucretius — Poetry character guide

> Lucretius in Poetry by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Lucretius, quoth Lucretius

**First appearance:** 0001-the-rape-of-lucrece

## Snapshot

Lucrece's aged father, summoned to her chamber only to watch his daughter die, whose grief becomes one of the poem's most raw and helpless voices.

## Who they are

Lucretius arrives at Collatium as the grieving patriarch, the man whose paternal love makes Lucrece's violation a wound to his own blood and name. His tension lies in the unbearable position of a father who can neither prevent nor avenge his daughter's death, only witness it and clutch at her body. He matters to the poem's middle arc because his lament amplifies the private cost of Tarquin's crime, turning Lucrece's fall into a family's devastation before Brutus channels it into revolt.

## Relationships

### [Lucrece](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_28_se/characters/lucrece)

_family_

Lucrece is the devoted wife of Lucretius, and her rape and suicide bring him profound grief and a drive for vengeance.

### [Lucrece](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_28_se/characters/lucrece)

_family_

Lucrece is the devoted wife of Lucretius, and her rape and suicide bring him profound grief and a drive for vengeance.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_28_se/characters/lucretius
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_28_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_28_se/characters