With so many words making up the content of plays, it is difficult for one, single word to make much of an impact. However, the word ‘honor’ does just that in the play Titus Andronicus. Honor means different things to different people, and this is quite evident in the tragedy that is Titus Andronicus. The definition of honor has changed throughout the history of man. The character for which the play is named, Titus, puts his honor and the honor of Rome before anything else. In the play, honor is used as justification for wrongful actions. There are murders that happen in the name of honor. Honor is also lost by some and taken from others. Although small in size, the word honor plays a large role in Titus Andronicus.
In order to understand how the word honor impacts Titus Andronicus, it is important to first understand what the word means. Honor is defined differently during William Shakespeare’s lifetime, in the play Titus Andronicus, and in present day. In Shakespeare’s time, honor was very important because status and reputation were very important. The higher one’s status or the better one’s reputation reflected how honorable the person was considered to be. In Titus Andronicus, the definition of honor seems to change from character to character; however, William Shakespeare portrays the importance of honor in the Roman Empire. Honor meant everything to the warriors, rulers, and people of the Roman Empire. In the present day, honor is not as important as it was in the past. The sad truth is that today reputation or status is not based upon one’s honor; it is based mainly off of how much money the person makes or how well they can lip-sync at their sold out concerts. Merriam-Webster defines honor as “high moral standards of beh...
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...f his honor. When Titus allows Aaron to cut off his hand, he is letting Aaron take away his honor. By the end of the play, Titus has nothing to show of the honor he once killed for.
The premise of the play Titus Andronicus can be easily summed up in one word. That word is simply ‘honor’. Honor means a different thing today than it did during the Roman Empire or Shakespeare’s life, but it is important to know honor’s definition in order to understand Titus Andronicus. Honor was used to justify murdering multiple times throughout the play. Titus killed two of his own children to protect his honor. Titus’s honor was also destroyed by Lavinia being raped and mutilated and Aaron tricking Titus into cutting off his hand, an important symbol of his honor. The word ‘honor’ has a huge impact on the play Titus Andronicus.
Works Cited
Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
... work is timeless. The permanence of this play is owed to a clever intermingling of opposing belief systems. Shakespeare took the ancient contrasting themes of revenge and Christianity, he tossed in hypocrisy, and he mixed them up with the judgmental fingers of Tamora and Aaron. Although the legalistic demands of the Andronicus family are met with a storm of indictments of hypocrisy by the non-religious Tamora and Aaron, there is one unifying factor. All can agree on the importance of the first born son.
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William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a story full of manipulation and jealousy that changes the way people think. Ancient Rome had umpteen different ways of handling situations that, in today’s world, would be considered unethical; such as battles that were very much horrifying and vivid. However, these battles were not important with the development of the plot. Shakespeare uses various ways of the idea of manipulation and betrayal to lead readers into the rest of the narrative.
In Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius are both considered honorable men by the public. But, like all traits, honor is in the eye of the beholder. Honor is defined as evidence or symbols of distinction. Those who are placed in power are often chosen because of their traits, which include being honorable. If those in power have any faults, it could diminish their position in the eyes of the public.
In Shakespeare's work Richard II , He talks about how honor is one of his highest priorities. “Mine honor is my life, both grow in one; Take honor from me, and my life is done; Then, dear liege, mine honor let me try; In that I live, and for that I will die” (Parrott, 1953, p. 308) This piece shows the intensity of one's need for honor. The act of insulting someone was a serious matter. By...
To quote the Greek Philosopher Socrates, “regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of -- for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” In his telling the tale of Mark Antony through the play Antony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare portrays Antony as a man who has shirked the responsibilities of his position in the Triumvirate, and his honor...
‘Titus Andronicus ‘is a play by William Shakespeare that went to become very popular during his time. The play was performed in Rome after the defeat of the Goths by the Romans. The Goths were people from German who invaded their country. Throughout the play, violence can be seen inform of brutal murders, sexual violence and mutilation, suicide, wars and conflicts. This is normally heightened by the urge of the characters to revenge. Examples of such cases include: the raping and mutilation of Lavinia, Titus’s daughter and the killing of Alarbus. Shakespeare presents stage violence that makes the audience concentrate and understand in a better way.
Titus Andronicus is a play marked by acts of horrific violence and littered with death and the destruction of others. Each violent act, however, serves to explain and sometimes encourage the motives of the play's memorable characters and impart a very tightly knotted plot. The structure of the play employs well-defined heroes and villains. Revenge is their key motivating factor. All of these elements combine to form a cohesive plot and contribute to the overall success of the story.
In Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One, the characters' many different conceptions of honor govern how they respond to situations. Each character's conception of honor has a great impact on the character's standing after the play. For instance, Falstaff survived because he dishonorably faked his own death, and his untrue claim that he was the one who killed Hotspur may get him a title and land. On the other hand, Hotspur lies dead after losing a duel for honor. Hotspur, who is in many ways the ideal man by the standards of his time, is killed by his lust for honor. In creating Hotspur, Shakespeare has created a variation on the tragic hero of other works: the stubborn tragic hero, who, dying for his fault of honor, does not at last understand his weakness.
“Honor is the value of a person in his or her own eyes. Honor is a claim to worth along with social acknowledgement of worth.” (Malina 31) This phrase tells us that honor was extremely important to the ancient people. Honor is a value that was present during many occasions in the play. This value can be seen in Oedipus. He promised the citizens of Thebes that he would find the murderer of Laius and free the lands from the plague. The murderer was to be exiled from Thebes. Oedipus later found out that he himself was the murderer. Even though he was king, he honored the punishment and exiled himself from Thebes. The New Testament states that honor in women meant positive shame. Positive shame is the sensitivity of one 's own reputation. A shameless person is considered a dishonorable woman. Women have to be ashamed and remain shy to avoid human contacts that might expose her to dishonor. (Malina 50) This value can be seen in Jocasta. She feels ashamed when she finds out that her husband Oedipus turned out to be her son. In order to remain honorable, her shame led her to commit
Through his legacy Brutus leaves the world an important lesson. Marc Antony remembers Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all."( ) Despite his death and loss in the war, Brutus is still remembered as noble, in this he represents the moral of the play.
Honor is a respectable fulfillment to acquire and uphold. In the play, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is respected by the people of the city for his family lineage in royalty. People that surround Hamlet refer to him as Lord and treat him with respect. When Hamlet
In the play Julius Caesar, written and preformed by William Shakespeare, there are many characters, but two, Brutus and Cassius, stood out. The play begins in Rome where a celebration of Julius Caesar's victory over the former ruler of Rome, Pompeii. The victory leads to Caesar's betrayal by his jealous companions. Senators and other high status figures are jealous of Caesar's new and growing power, while others, like Brutus, fear the tyrannical rule Caesar could enforce. The conspirators, Brutus and Cassius being the most important, assassinate Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, better known as Antony, and Octavius Caesar, Caesar's heir to the thrown, revenge Caesar's death. Antony convinces the Roman populous to destroy the conspirators and eventually begins a war with Cassius and Brutus' armies. Both Cassius and Brutus commit suicide to save their honor and Antony and Octavius win the war. The characterizations of Brutus and Cassius show a distinct contrast in their character traits and motives for the assassination of Julius Caesar.