The Rape of Lucrece

I've gone through quite a bit of Shakespeare, perhaps too much, this year. Of all the Shakespeare things I have read, The Rape of Lucrece is by far the best. It's a poem, but it's 80 pages long, at least in my book. One issue I have with lots of Shakespeare's work is that I never feel like I know the characters. Even in the tragedies; Othello was a fairly simply character for me. The Rape of Lucrece, however, is extremely detailed. I actually got enveloped in the feelings of characters. Everything had a much more tangible motive for me. It isn't too hard to comprehend either. Some stanzas had me a bit confused, but it was easier to read than the plays, I think. Either way, it's quite a beautiful work, even though it is very tragic, naturally.