Shakespeare’s earliest tragedy is a play infamous for its gore and spectacular violence. Within the play there are multiple murders and lopped limbs aplenty, but the chief victim of the play – the primary spectacle – is Lavinia. Her ill fate is first conveyed to the reader through the ornate words of Marcus, and from this point on Lavinia is seen, but heard only through the words of the other characters. Indeed, in Titus Andronicus Lavinia is the spectacle of the play, and her manifestation is created only through the words of the other characters. It is through the silence of Lavinia and her reliance on other’s words – not her own – that the play is most poignant. However, in Julie Taymore’s adaptation of the play to the screen, the relationship between words and spectacle changes. On the screen the words fall back into a supporting role, letting the visual horror of Lavinia’s torture run unbridled, and become the main focus point.
A spectacle can be defined as ‘an unusual or surprising sight or situation that attracts much attention’ and also carries the connotations of an event made public. In Titus Andronicus Lavinia is nothing if not public. In the patriarchal Roman society she is an object, with value, to be traded. Saturninus voices his intentions to ‘make Lavinia his empress ’ (I.I.244) and clarifies this with Titus rather than Lavinia. Bassianus then stakes his claim ( the alliterate ‘this maid is mine’) and the dynamic stage direction ‘seizes Lavinia’ (I.I280). While it is inferred that Lavinia and Bassianus are betrothed, Legatt argues that this is less about ‘[Lavinia’s] wishes, but Bassianus’ rights ’. Bassianus is less taking Lavinia as his love, but as his property and in this we see that Lavinia is already a spe...
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...the reflective camera work and the metaphorical visuals. In the film, it is likewise the language of the camera that creates the spectacle.
Works Cited
William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, ed. Jonathan Bate (Routledge: 1995)
Alexander Legatt, Shakespeare’s Tragedies: Violation and Identity (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
Coppelia Kahn, Roman Shakespeare: Warriors, wounds and women (London and New York: Routledge, 1997)
Ovid, Metamorphosis (London, 1567)
Sarah Eaton, ‘A Woman of Letters’, in Shakespearean Tragedy and Gender, ed. Shirley Nelson Garner and Madelon Sprengnether (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1996), pp. 54-74
David Fredrick, ‘Titus Androgynous: Foul Mouths and Troubled Masculinity’, in Arethusa, 41.1 (2008), http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/arethusa/v041/41.1fredrick.html [accessed 24th November 2009]
Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”
...us, and various dignitaries enter the dining room, Goldenfall inserts a muted Italian aria, like one heard in a fine Italian restaurant. Considering the nature of the scene and the audience's knowledge of what is to be served, the aria serves to increase audience disgust. And as the beautiful music wafts through the background of the scene and Tamora eats the flesh of her own sons, the revulsion is intensified. It is almost a relief when the scene erupts into violence.
Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare’s exploration of violence of all kinds -religious, domestic, political, sexual, and corrective violence. Titus shows how quickly private vengeance can spin out of control if the law does not contain it. Revenge never evens the odds, but rather triggers counter retaliation and creates an escalating cycle of revenge. The increasing dynamic soon becomes a full-fledged blood feud between two clans to which the perpetrator and the victim belong. In the play the sacrifice of Tamora’s eldest son Alarbus by Titus begins the cycle of violence that ultimately engulfs all the Goths and Romans.
Shakespeare's first tragedy has been a topic of discussion since the day it was written. Titus Andronicus "was staged on 24 January 1594 by the Earl of Sussex's Men at the Rose Theatre" (Welsh 1). Though this tidbit of information seems somewhat irrelevant to Titus, we must note that there are certain standards and practices established by a play from its first performance. It is also important to establish the general attributes that audiences attribute to Shakespearean performance.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
To realize the vision of the play, the script, set-up, costumes, stagecraft, sound design, and acting have to communicate a unified message with which the audience will relate. The script will be tailored to ensure that the audience can understand the play as it proceeds. This is in terms of the language and terms used. Though the language will not be modern, it will be English that can be understood by the audience. This will be English of antique England as it will give the play a feeling of ancient times. The scriptwriter will carry out research on the level of understanding the local people will have of ancient English so as to ascertain that the script matches this level. Although many plays of that era were sung and accompanied by dance, this play will be acted out with spoken word rather than songs. This is because speaking will ensure the audience hears the conversations as they go on and that they understand. This is ...
Marked by malicious deceit, gruesome violence, and macabre humour William Shakespeare's revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus illustrates the fall of a war hero through a cycle of brutal revenge. Shakespeare introduces the Roman General, Titus, as both a diplomatic and loyal defender of his state, unwilling to compromise the rightful succession of the Roman throne; Titus rejects the opportunity to rule the country. Nevertheless, Titus finds himself embittered towards Rome with each act of treacherous revenge committed by Tamara, Titus ebbs closer towards insanity. Developed for two fundamental reasons, Shakespeare firstly employs Lavinia, Titus' cherished daughter, as a device to perpetuate the plot. However, underpinning the surface value of the character is her secondary function, which is to act as a symbolic device. As the embodiment of chaste and beauty, Lavinia materializes Titus' perception of Rome, both the physical body and the state. Therefore, the violation and bodily mutilation Lavinia endures functions as a symbolic manifestation paralleling Titus' experiences with respect to the turmoil in Rome. Thus, the telling incident in Act 5 Scene 2 where Titus captures Demetrius and Chiron in his home depicts his loss of his control. At first, lines 165-205 appear as though Titus is allowing Lavinia the opportunity to have revenge on her attackers, yet a closer reading reveals the scene as a pinnacle moment of revenge for Titus. Through satirical puns, black comedy, and subtle manipulations of the verse Shakespeare exposes the dissemination of Titus' psychological constitution.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Neely, Carol Thomas. "Shakespeare's Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations." In Holland, Norman N., Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris, eds. Shakespeare's Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
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.
The play in all entirety is a major spectacle but Medea’s burning desire for revenge was what captivated viewers the most. As spectators we watch with fascination and horror how the series of events unfold. The chorus also watches Medea’s cutthroat destruction of her enemies. Some might perceive this as an unsettling spectacle. Nonetheless the genius and cunningness of her action is revered not only b...
Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. “The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.” The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294