Lavinia In Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus

The two primary uses of language are written word and spoken dialogue. In William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, there are ample situations where each is very important. Throughout the play, Shakespeare gives the characters who have the ability to read a clear advantage over those who cannot. Aaron’s treachery is committed as a result of a letter that was superior to the begging of Titus. Titus manages to upset the power balance of Saturninus by simply shooting arrows with authoritative messages into the court in Rome. Lastly, the ravaged Lavinia manages to overcome her gruesome injuries to use written language to expose those truly responsible for her suffering. There are also moments in the life of William Shakespeare that tie into the behavior

After being silenced for the majority of the play, Lavinia finally regains the power she lost as a result of Chiron and Demetrius’ horrible crimes. The two men responsible for her maiming face swift justice, and Lavinia is essentially put out of her misery by her own father. Shakespeare makes it brutally apparent that written word is stronger than speech by stripping Lavinia of her ability to speak. Shakespeare creates this situation to offer redemption to both Titus and Lavinia, who both were greatly wronged throughout the play. Lavinia gains her power by finding the ability to write the names of Chiron and Demetrius, and maintains that power until she meets her demise. Titus himself feels a great sense of revenge, as he proclaims “For worse than Philomel you used my daughter, / And worse than Procne I will be revenged” (V, iii, 200-201). Shakespeare was very progressive in his decision to give Lavinia the ability to write in the play. His own daughter was incapable of writing, which is potentially a side effect of Shakespeare’s busy life (Callaghan 2013, 27). Ultimately, Lavinia’s power is short-lived, but marks one of the very few times in the play where justice is legitimately