Tarquin
Macbeth Act 2 Scene 1
 'With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
moves like a ghost‘
 Macbeth says this line in Act 2 Scene 1
 Macbeth says this in a soliloquy where he is
determining whether he should kill the king or not
 Last king of the ancient Roman
 He had the most powerful kingdom in Italy
 He wasn’t politically astute and people hated him for
the burdens he put on them
 He was stubborn and would never consult his Senate
 A rebellion was brewing in the kingdom of Tarquin
 Lucretia was husband of Tarquin’s relative Collatinus
and member of the powerful Brutus family
 Tarquin reportedly raped Lucretia
 Soon after being raped Lucretia committed suicide
 After her Suicide Collatinus and the Brutus family
raised a rebellion and the Tarquinus family was
banished from Rome.
 Tarquin the Proud was a brutal and evil king
 He killed and raped his followers, family, and high
powered aristocrats.
 He was Hated by everyone
 He pushed his luck and after he raped an important
member of the Brutus family he was screwed but he
didn’t care when he was doing it and he got his whole
family banished from the kingdom of Rome.
 Shakespeare references Tarquin in Act 1 Scene 2
 Macbeth brings Tarquin up in a soliloquy where he is
determining whether he should kill King Duncan
 When Macbeth is bringing up Tarquin he is saying if
Tarquin could have been that evil and vicious then he
could be evil enough to kill King Duncan
 http://www.unrv.com/bio/lucius-tarquinius-superbus.php
 http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/5-diabolical-roman-kings/tarquinius-
priscus.jpg
 www.shakespeare-navigators.com/macbeth/T21.html
 http://bookbuilder.cast.org/bookresources/44/44522/172416_1.jpg

www.shmoop.com/macbeth/allusions.html
 http://www.collintheatrecenter.com/PastShows/2000/Macbeth/Photos/Macbeth
Art2.jpg
 www.dipity.com/ltwernbold/Macbeth-Blind-Ambition/
 http://www.crystalinks.com/romelogo.jpg
 http://0.tqn.com/d/ancienthistory/1/G/w/g/2/rapeofLucretia_by-titian.jpg
 http://bestoflegends.org/art/shakes-sm.jpg