Titus And Bassianus Character Analysis

With the death of Rome’s king, his sons Saturninus and Bassianus argue over who should take his place. The people decide that his third son Titus is the most deserved for kingship, saying praise such as “A nobler man, a braver warrior, Lives not this day within the city walls” (25-26). As Titus comes back from war declaring victory with captives, he is told about what the offering of kingship and refuses gives the role to the oldest son Saturninus. Saturninus repays the offer by marrying Titus’s daughter. As Titus offers Saturninus his daughter and other things such as the captives. As an offering to the gods for both of his dead son’s souls to rest in peace, Titus sacrifices the captured queen’s eldest son. Saturninus falls in love with the captured queen and hates Titus for his decision. As Saturninus is about to be married to Titus’ daughter, Bassianus explains that he was already engaged to Titus’ daughter and escapes with her. As Titus pursues, he is stopped by one of his sons. He kills his son and continues to pursue. He is stopped by Saturninus, who declares the captured queen to be his wife and goes off to marry her. Both couples come back and Titus tries to make things cheerful again by

Titus’ strict religious ties cause some of the major conflict in the beginning of the story. The queen concluded that he used the god as an excuse to kill the queen’s eldest son because it did not benefit her. Saturninus tends to be selfish and spiteful despite what the gods want. It seems that Titus is trying to do the right thing, but he is being hated by others who have different agendas and care more about themselves. This scenario may be a statement about how hard it is to respect the gods and how people may face consequences for loving the gods. This may also be interpreted as a critique or showing how believing in the gods can be unjust and may reflect the moral dilemmas that some