'...Alarum'd by this sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost' (2.1.55).
Therefore, I want to mention about him briefly and the reason why he is used as an allusion in this part of the act.
Tarquin the Proud (Lucius Tarquinius Superbus) was a tyranical ruler of his period. Some people state that he rapes Lucretia and with this way, he causes her death, but others claim that he does not rape her; he is just arrogant and evil for a ruler. Both demonstrates Macbeth and Tarquin have a similarity. Lucretia is known with her virtue, as King Duncan, so that she may be associated with Duncan. According to legends, Tarquin is affected by her virtue and rapes her, and because of this, Lucretia cannot live without her virtue because she loses it with violent rape of Tarquin. Thus, she kills herself. Except of the rape, the story of Tarquin sounds familiar, right? In these lines that I gave, saying "ravishing strides" refers to Tarquin on his way to his rape. This allusion is actually foreshadowing future events in the play, and also reinforces the dark mood in this scene.
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