Titus Andronicus

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I am back to my blog after a long hiatus. My exams and editing my mother’s books kept me busy.

 I have brought you a new blog post today. Happy reading!!

Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is highly critically acclaimed. The titular character, Senator Andronicus, is one of Shakespeare’s most developed tragic characters. He soon becomes embroiled in a bitter power struggle with the play’s main antagonist, the beautiful, seductive and completely amoral Queen Tamora.

As the play begins, the deceased Roman Emperor’s sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, argue over who will succeed him. Senator Marcus Andronicus steps in to prevent the conflict becoming physical and declares that the people’s choice for Emperor is his brother, Titus, who has just returned after defeating the Goths. With him, bound in chains and barefoot, are the Goth Queen[Tamora], her three sons [Alarbus, Chiron and Demetrius] and her Moor lover[Aaron]. Titus sacrifices Alarbus to avenge the deaths of his own sons during the war, inviting Tamora’s vengeance upon his head. Titus quietly but firmly declares that he is not fit to rule and supports Saturninus’ claim to the throne. When Saturninus declares that he wants to marry Lavinia [ Titus’ daughter], Bassianus, who is in love with Lavinia, spirits her away. Saturninius decides to marry Tamora instead, much to Titus’ chagrin.

During a royal hunt the next day, the cunning, black hearted Aaron persuades Chiron and Demetrius to kill Bassianus so they may assault Lavinia. The two brutes kill Bassianus and violently rape Lavinia. To keep her from revealing what has happened, they cut off her hands and tear out her tongue. Meanwhile, Aaron writes a forged letter, blaming Titus’ sons for the murder of Bassianus. Devastated, the unsuspecting Emperor arrests them and sentences them to death.

Marcus discovers Lavinia deep in the forest. Half mad with pain and terror, she is unable to tell him what happened; her father breaks down upon seeing her sorry state. Aaron visits Titus and tells him that if he sends one of his hands to the Emperor, his sons’ lives will be spared. Titus willingly does so, but upon learning that he has been duped by the Moor, orders his only surviving son, Lucius, to raise an army among the Goths. Lavinia manages to write the names of her attackers in the dirt, using a stick held between her mouth and the stumps of her arms. Lucius, marching on Rome, captures Aaron. When Tamora, Chiron and Demetrius visit Titus [disguised as Revenge, Murder and Rape, respectively], Titus slits Chiron and Demetrius’ throats and forces Tamora to drink their blood before killing her. Horrified at what he believes to be treason, Saturninus kills Titus and is in turn killed by a vengeful Lucius. Lavinia has already been killed by Titus in an “honour killing”. Lucius is proclaimed Emperor. He orders that Saturninus be given a state burial, that Tamora’s body be thrown to the wild beasts outside the city, and that Aaron be buried chest-deep and left to die of thirst and starvation.

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