LX explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Mortality and the Sublime

  The discovery of Lorenzo's face in the basil pot confronts the brothers with the horror of death and their crime.

Characters to notice

• Lorenzo

  His face is discovered in the basil pot, confirming the brothers' murder.

• Isabel

  Her basil pot is stolen by the brothers.

Key passages

• “Yet they contrived to steal the Basil-pot, And to examine it in secret place: The thing was vile with green and livid spot, And yet they knew it was Lorenzo’s face:”

  The brothers managed to take the basil pot and look at it privately; it was disgusting with green and bruised marks, but they recognized it as Lorenzo's face.

  The brothers' discovery of the gruesome truth.

• “The guerdon of their murder they had got, And so left Florence in a moment’s space, Never to turn again.⁠—Away they went, With blood upon their heads, to banishment.”

  They had received the reward for their murder, and so they quickly left Florence, never to return. They went into exile with blood on their heads.

  The brothers flee Florence after obtaining the basil pot.