Metaphors In Titus Andronicus

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The play, Titus Andronicus, is almost bursting with disfigured and distorted bodies. The most obvious and apparent of these is Lavinia, who is raped and has her tongue and hands cut off. In addition, one of Titus’ hands hand’s is chopped off, and the remaining dead body parts of Demetrius and Chiron are cut up and made into a pie that Titus serves Tamora in the final act. All this bodily disfigurement can be related to a common metaphor that personifies the empire of Rome as a body. For example, when Marcus wants Titus to become emperor of Rome, he tells him to “set a head on headless Rome.” Similarly, at the end of the play, Marcus promises to restore Rome, saying that he will “knit...these broken limbs again into one body.” Not only the

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