The Play Titus Andronicus - Book Report/Review Example

Death of an Empire and Death of a Family In his play, Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare paints the backdrop to the downfall of Rome. He uses one family's tragedy as a means of mirroring the political turmoil and corruption of the Roman Empire. The play focuses around the family of Titus Andronicus, a famed Roman military leader. Drama ensues as the struggle for the throne ends in corruption and betrayal. The dramatic qualities of the play begin to show themselves as Titus seeks to avenge the brutal rape of his daughter and his fight to bring honor back to the Roman Empire. While Shakespeare's emphasis on the downfall of Rome is evident throughout the play, the audience cannot help but witness the downfall of Titus' family as well. In the play Shakespeare displays the breakdown of each of the characters as if to symbolize the effects of the collapse of Rome in each one of them. "Beginning with Bassianus, the audience witnesses his decline as the decision for the throne is taken from him and given to his brother instead" (White). This in turn costs him his future wife, Lavinia, as the new king vows to take her as his wife. Martius argues, "Thou art Roman be not barbarious," (Shakespeare) in protest of Saturninus' decision to make Lavinia his wife and also to protest of Titus' murder of his own son, Mutius, for trying to defend Lavinia and Bassianus. These examples depict how political greed and struggle for honor can destroy family ties and the things that matter most. The audience also witnesses the beginning breakdown of Saturinus as he chooses Tamora as his wife instead in a quest for political power. He well knows that Tamora is a Goth famous for her brutality and the apparent simplicity of their marriage leaves the audience questioning why a civilized Roman would choose to marry a barbaric Goth. "This act reveals a deeper understanding of the true violence at the heart of the Roman Empire" (Royster). Saturinus' declaration of a "Love - Day" feast is simply a facade designed to disguise the violence and hatred that the marriage is to cause in the future. The use of words are portrayed as a type of weapon throughout the play. The most obvious of this usage when Titus sends Chiron and Demetrius weapons along with a letter with the quote, "The man of upright life, and the free from crime, has no need of the Moore's javelins or arrows" (Shakespeare). "While the insult is lost on the simple barbaric minds of Lavinia's rapists, Aaron recognizes the mythological quote of Horace and notes the gravity of the insult" (Miola). The use of words distinguishes the wise characters as they often use quotes in reference to myths and allow them to communicate their attacks on each other and express their deceit. Shakespeare's emphasis on knowledge of mythology makes it seem that those with the knowledge are the true heroes of the play (Detmer). The dramatic disclosure of Lavinia's rape is ultimately shown through the "concept of her body as a text and she refers to the wise words of Ovid" (Lugo) to reveal the identity of her rapists. In every aspect of the play there is an underlying sense of foreboding and doom. Shakespeare uses the symbol of the pit and underground to fuel this feeling, giving his audience a way of seeing how everything is tied to together and how the destruction of one character can symbolize the destruction of an entire nation. "Particularly in Act II the reader gains a better understanding of this fear of the pit and how it effects the characters in the play" (Dickson). The scene opens with Aaron burying a bag of gold underground, and is then followed by Bassianus' corpse being thrown into a pit where both Quintus and Martius are also trapped. This sense of doom can also be translated into the brutal raping of Lavinia with references to "this abhorred pit" and "this unhallowed and bloodstained hole". These refines always portray the pit as a kind of death or symbol of a tomb signaling the audience to see the connection between the death of Rome and death of Titus' family. The fear of this pit can be followed all the way to the ending scene in which Tamora uses her mouth, or pit, to devour her own sons in turn signaling the death of her family with her body representing a tomb (Royster). One of the strongest connections between the downfall of Titus's family and the downfall of Rome can be seen in Act IV Scene III as Titus and his comrades attempt to shoot their plies up to the gods for justice with their bows and arrows. Titus proclaims, "We will solicit heaven and move the gods to send justice for to wreak our wrongs" (Shakespeare). In their attempt to reach the gods they are reminded of how lowly and helpless they truly are as the arrows simply fall back to earth one by one. It is as if no one will hear their plies and they are doomed to suffer. This is much like the way the gods have also turned their back on Rome. "Just like the humans who are powerless to humanity, Rome is also powerless against political corruption" (Washington). The use of the letters attached to the arrows also refers back to the use of words as weapons as the arrows fall into Saturninus' court with the notes attached to them depicting Saturninus' crimes. By the end of the play, Shakespeare gives the reader a greater understanding of what the downfall of Rome meant for many families living in its era. By showing his audience the brutality and hardships Titus' family faced he is able to give emotion and deeper meaning allowing the audience to see past the political corruption. "The brutal ending of the play, with an astounding number of corpses, symbolizes a possible new beginning for Rome" (Goldstein). Now that the corruptors have been terminated Rome is free to begin a new chapter, with a new leader. It seems that Shakespeare wanted to leave the audience with an almost happy and hopeful ending using the words of Marcus to try and lift the audience's spirits saying, "O, let me teach you how to knit again, this scattered corn into one mutual sheaf, these broken limbs again into one body" (Shakespeare). Overall, the audience is able to gain a better understanding of what political turmoil must have meant for families living in these ancient times of political upheaval and government unrest. This play would have helped the audience to see how brutal and bloodthirsty the ancient civilizations could have been and how their entire lives were outlined by their obsession with pride and honor (Jaynes). By the end of the play Titus has lost all pride and honor in his country and this can be seen in the state of his family which is just as mangled and corrupted as his nation's leaders. Shakespeare reveals in the most tragic and brutal of ways how struggles for power can dominate and in the end completely destroy a family. Using Titus' family as an example, Shakespeare is able to showcase the pride and honor that a man can have for both his family and his country. In Titus' case his love for his country was so great that the destruction of it also caused the destruction of his family. Works Cited 1.) Detmer-Goebel, Emily. The Need for Lavinia's Voice: Titus Andronicus and the Telling of Rape. Shakespeare Studies, 2001, Vol. 29, p75, 18p. 2.) DICKSON, VERNON GUY. "A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant": Emulation, Rhetoric, and Cruel Propriety in Titus Andronicus. Renaissance Quarterly, Summer2009, Vol. 62 Issue 2, p376-409, 34p. 3.) GOLDSTEIN, DAVID B. The Cook and the Cannibal: Titus Andronicus and the New World. Shakespeare Studies, 2009, Vol. 37, p99-133, 35p. 4.) Jaynes, Nanette. Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. Explicator, Spring94, Vol. 52 Issue 3, p132, 3p. 5.) Lugo, Jessica. Blood, barbarism, and belly laughs: Shakespeare's Titus and Ovid's Philomela. English Studies, Aug2007, Vol. 88 Issue 4, p401-417, 17p. 6.) Miola, Robert S. Titus Andronicus and the Mythos of Shakespeare's Rome. Shakespeare Studies, 1981, Vol. 14, p85, 14p. 7.) Royster, Francesca T. White-limed Walls: Whiteness and Gothic Extremism in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. Shakespeare Quarterly, Winter2000, Vol. 51 Issue 4, p432. 8.) Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. Folger Shakespeare Library Series. Pocket Classics. Feb. 2005. 9.) Washington, Edward T. Tragic resolutions in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. CLA Journal, Jun95, Vol. 38 Issue 4, p461, 19p. 10) White, Jeannette S. Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. Explicator, Summer96, Vol. 54 Issue 4, p207, 3p. Read More