AN APARTMENT IN THE CASTLE. by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
This intense moment from Shelley's verse play *The Cenci* depicts Beatrice Cenci as she plots to kill her abusive father, Count Cenci.
The poem
ENTER BEATRICE AND LUCRETIA. LUCRETIA: They are about it now. BEATRICE: Nay, it is done. LUCRETIA: I have not heard him groan. BEATRICE: He will not groan. LUCRETIA: What sound is that? BEATRICE: List! ’tis the tread of feet About his bed. LUCRETIA: My God! If he be now a cold, stiff corpse... BEATRICE: O, fear not _5 What may be done, but what is left undone: The act seals all. [ENTER OLIMPIO AND MARZIO.] Is it accomplished? MARZIO: What? OLIMPIO: Did you not call? BEATRICE: When? OLIMPIO: Now. BEATRICE: I ask if all is over? OLIMPIO: We dare not kill an old and sleeping man; His thin gray hair, his stern and reverend brow, _10 His veined hands crossed on his heaving breast, And the calm innocent sleep in which he lay, Quelled me. Indeed, indeed, I cannot do it. NOTE: _10 reverend]reverent all editions. MARZIO: But I was bolder; for I chid Olimpio, And bade him bear his wrongs to his own grave _15 And leave me the reward. And now my knife Touched the loose wrinkled throat, when the old man Stirred in his sleep, and said, ‘God! hear, O, hear, A father’s curse! What, art Thou not our Father?’ And then he laughed. I knew it was the ghost _20 Of my dead father speaking through his lips, And could not kill him. BEATRICE: Miserable slaves! Where, if ye dare not kill a sleeping man, Found ye the boldness to return to me With such a deed undone? Base palterers! _25 Cowards and traitors! Why, the very conscience Which ye would sell for gold and for revenge Is an equivocation: it sleeps over A thousand daily acts disgracing men; And when a deed where mercy insults Heaven... _30 Why do I talk? [SNATCHING A DAGGER FROM ONE OF THEM, AND RAISING IT.] Hadst thou a tongue to say, ‘She murdered her own father!’—I must do it! But never dream ye shall outlive him long! OLIMPIO: Stop, for God’s sake! MARZIO: I will go back and kill him. OLIMPIO: Give me the weapon, we must do thy will. _35 BEATRICE: Take it! Depart! Return! [EXEUNT OLIMPIO AND MARZIO.] How pale thou art! We do but that which ’twere a deadly crime To leave undone. LUCRETIA: Would it were done! BEATRICE: Even whilst That doubt is passing through your mind, the world Is conscious of a change. Darkness and Hell _40 Have swallowed up the vapour they sent forth To blacken the sweet light of life. My breath Comes, methinks, lighter, and the jellied blood Runs freely through my veins. Hark! [ENTER OLIMPIO AND MARZIO.] He is... OLIMPIO: Dead! MARZIO: We strangled him that there might be no blood; _45 And then we threw his heavy corpse i’ the garden Under the balcony; ‘twill seem it fell. BEATRICE [GIVING THEM A BAG OF COIN]: Here, take this gold, and hasten to your homes. And, Marzio, because thou wast only awed By that which made me tremble, wear thou this! _50 [CLOTHES HIM IN A RICH MANTLE.] It was the mantle which my grandfather Wore in his high prosperity, and men Envied his state: so may they envy thine. Thou wert a weapon in the hand of God To a just use. Live long and thrive! And, mark, _55 If thou hast crimes, repent: this deed is none. [A HORN IS SOUNDED.] LUCRETIA: Hark, ’tis the castle horn: my God! it sounds Like the last trump. BEATRICE: Some tedious guest is coming. LUCRETIA: The drawbridge is let down; there is a tramp Of horses in the court; fly, hide yourselves! _60 [EXEUNT OLIMPIO AND MARZIO.] BEATRICE: Let us retire to counterfeit deep rest; I scarcely need to counterfeit it now: The spirit which doth reign within these limbs Seems strangely undisturbed. I could even sleep Fearless and calm: all ill is surely past. _65 [EXEUNT.] SCENE 4.4:
This intense moment from Shelley's verse play *The Cenci* depicts Beatrice Cenci as she plots to kill her abusive father, Count Cenci. Just before the act, two hired assassins hesitate, but Beatrice — filled with anger and determination — pushes them to go through with it. By the end of the scene, Count Cenci lies dead, and rather than feeling guilt, Beatrice experiences an unexpected, almost tangible sense of relief.
Line-by-line
LUCRETIA: They are about it now. / BEATRICE: Nay, it is done.
LUCRETIA: I have not heard him groan. / BEATRICE: He will not groan.
BEATRICE: O, fear not / What may be done, but what is left undone: / The act seals all.
OLIMPIO: We dare not kill an old and sleeping man; / His thin gray hair, his stern and reverend brow,
MARZIO: But I was bolder; for I chid Olimpio, / And bade him bear his wrongs to his own grave
BEATRICE: Miserable slaves! / Where, if ye dare not kill a sleeping man,
BEATRICE: Even whilst / That doubt is passing through your mind, the world / Is conscious of a change.
BEATRICE [GIVING THEM A BAG OF COIN]: Here, take this gold, and hasten to your homes.
LUCRETIA: Hark, 'tis the castle horn: my God! it sounds / Like the last trump.
BEATRICE: Let us retire to counterfeit deep rest; / I scarcely need to counterfeit it now:
Tone & mood
The tone remains tight, urgent, and filled with moral weight. Shelley uses compressed, dramatic language — quick exchanges that buzz with tension — before shifting to longer, more lyrical speeches as Beatrice takes charge. Her voice carries a chilling clarity that feels uncomfortable against the backdrop of the unfolding horror. The scene prevents any easy feelings of sympathy or straightforward condemnation.
Symbols & metaphors
- The sleeping old man — Count Cenci asleep serves as the scene's key moral image. His vulnerability while sleeping — with gray hair, crossed hands, and an innocent expression — is what unsettles the killers. Shelley employs this moment to compel the audience to grapple with two conflicting truths: this man is utterly helpless at this moment, and he has committed horrific acts.
- The dagger — When Beatrice grabs the dagger from one of the hired men, it symbolizes her reclaiming agency. Throughout the play, she has been a victim, but this moment marks her refusal to accept that role. It also shows that she is ready to take full moral responsibility for her actions.
- The grandfather's mantle — The rich mantle Beatrice gives Marzio carries deep significance. It symbolizes inherited status and wealth, yet it also serves as a reminder of a family history marred by the very abuse she is working to end. Putting it on a hired killer could either be a true gesture of honor or an indication that the Cenci legacy of violence merely shifts from one person to another.
- The castle horn — The horn that sounds after the murder is heard by Lucretia as the final trump — a call for divine judgment. It signals the moment when the world of consequences emerges, transforming the private act of killing into something that will be witnessed, examined, and evaluated.
- Darkness and Hell swallowed up — Beatrice's vision of darkness and hell pulling back into themselves portrays the murder as a cosmic correction instead of just a crime. In her eyes, Cenci represented the evil that tainted the world, and his death brings back a sense of natural order. Shelley presents this idea with empathy, while still allowing room for doubt about its truth.
Historical context
Shelley wrote *The Cenci* in 1819, inspired by the true story of Beatrice Cenci, a Roman noblewoman who was executed in 1599 for murdering her father, Francesco Cenci, after suffering years of abuse at his hands. The case gained notoriety throughout Europe, and a portrait thought to be of Beatrice—one that Shelley saw in Rome—profoundly affected him. Although he envisioned the play for the stage, he was aware it would be banned in England because of its themes (patricide and implied incest). This scene, Act 4 Scene 3, is the turning point of the entire drama: the moment when the plan comes to fruition. Shelley was living in Italy during a time of significant political and personal turmoil, and the play's exploration of tyranny, justice, and power corruption mirrors his broader radical views. *The Cenci* is often regarded as his greatest dramatic work.
FAQ
It’s a scene from *The Cenci*, a verse drama—a play composed entirely in verse. Shelley intended it for stage performance, but it wasn’t produced in England while he was alive because of censorship. The language is poetic, while the structure includes theatrical elements like stage directions, dialogue, and entrances and exits.
Count Cenci is Beatrice's father, a wealthy and influential nobleman in Rome who has mistreated his family for years. The play suggests he has sexually abused Beatrice. Her decision to murder him is a desperate act of self-preservation and revenge after all her other attempts — appealing to the Pope and trying to escape — have failed.
Olimpio pauses at the sight of the sleeping man — old, gray-haired, hands resting on his chest, appearing innocent. Marzio pushes on but comes to a stop when Cenci murmurs a father's curse in his sleep, and Marzio recognizes his own deceased father's voice in it. Both men realize that the concept of killing is simpler than the actual act itself.
Shelley intentionally avoids giving a straightforward answer to that question. In the preface to the play, he explains that he aimed to portray Beatrice as neither entirely sympathetic nor purely monstrous. She endures real and horrific injustices, making her determination relatable. Yet, her chilling anger, the way she manipulates her killers, and her unsettling calmness at the end create a sense of discomfort. The play challenges you to embrace both aspects simultaneously.
She means that once the murder is done, it eliminates all other options and outcomes. It's a way for her — and Lucretia — to tell themselves to stop doubting their decisions. However, this line lingers throughout the play, as the act doesn’t close everything off; it actually starts the investigation that will result in Beatrice's own execution.
It serves as a reward and a symbolic gesture. The mantle signifies the wealth and status of the Cenci family. By giving it to Marzio — the man who committed the murder — Beatrice honors him as a tool of justice. She also conveys to him, 'This deed is none,' indicating that she doesn’t view the murder as a crime at all.
The horn signals the arrival of visitors — in the broader context of the play, this marks the start of the investigation into Cenci's death. Lucretia likens it to the last trump, the trumpet of Judgment Day, which perfectly conveys the sentiment: the private act has ended, and now the world is here to pass judgment on it.
Yes. Beatrice Cenci was indeed a real person, executed in Rome in 1599 alongside her stepmother and brother for the murder of her father. Her case became well-known throughout Europe for centuries. There's ongoing debate about whether the abuse Shelley describes actually happened, but it was popularly believed back then and plays a key role in how the case was interpreted and recounted.