Shakespeare's Myths
Titus Andronicus (1594), II.iv.26-27; 38-43:
[Marcus, upon discovering his niece, Lavinia, raped and with her hands and tongue removed]
Marcus: But sure some Tereus hath deflowered thee
And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue.
[...]
Fair Philomel, why she but lost her tongue
And in a tedious sampler sewed her mind.
But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee.
A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met ,
And he hath cut those pretty fingers off
That could have better sewed than Philomel.
Titus Andronicus (1594), IV.i.45-49:
[Titus describes Lavinia using a copy of the Metamorphoses to reveal what has happened to her]
Titus: Soft, so busily she turns the leaves.
Help her. What would she find? Lavinia, shall I read?
This is the tragic tale of Philomel,
And treats of Tereus’ treason and his rape,
And rape, I fear, was root of thy annoy.
The Rape of Lucrece (1594), 1128-34:
Come, Philomel, that sing’st of ravishment,
Make thy sad grove in my dishevelled hair.
As the dank earth weeps at thy languishment,
So I at each sad strain will strain a tear,
And with deep groans the diapason [outpouring / range of harmony] bear;
For burden-wise I’ll hum on Tarquin still,
While thou on Tereus descants [musical counterpoint] better skill.
Cymbeline (c. 1608-1611, 1609), II.ii.44-46:
Giacomo: She hath been reading late,
The tale of Tereus. Here the leaf's turned down
Where Philomel gave up.
365-68.
How to cite
Sarah Carter. “Tereus.” 2013. In A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Classical Mythology (2009-), ed. Yves Peyré. http://www.shakmyth.org/myth/235/tereus/occurrences+in+Shakespeare
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