Essay on The Real Hero of Titus Andronicus

It is this over dedication to Rome and his lacking of the lacking of the feminine, which also causes Titus to turn a cold heart to Tamora's pleas. "Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed, a mother's tears in passion for her son; and if thy sons were ever dearer to thee O, think my son to be as dear to me!" (Shakespeare, I.i, 106-108) However, Titus' devotion to Roman customs and inability to identify with a mother's pleas, that her "son is mark'd and die he must, t'appease their groaning shadows that are gone" (Shakespeare, I.i, 125-126.) His lack of femininity and desire that Roman tradition be followed allows him no sympathy for this upset mother and as result will suffer later in the play.

Titus Andronicus is a play renowned for its bloodshed and human suffering. Shakespeare’s strategic use of diction, literary devices such as alliteration and rhyme heightens the dark ambiance. The dark and lifeless images which pervade Tamora’s monologue explores the breakdown of human goodness and familial relations and loyalty. Titus Andronicus demonstrates the dangerous force of vengeance. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s underscores the complexity of gender roles that can impede female liberties through enduring patriarchal societal values who elevates a prudent woman over the ‘wildly’ lustful woman susceptible to her sexual appetite.

Caesar Augustus the man who found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. Caesar Augustus, one of the strongest and most strategic leaders in roman history, but this was all much later in his life, he started off in a very poor state yet through hard work and determination he came out on top to be known throughout the generations.

There are have been many arguments throughout the history of Shakespearean academia regarding the validity of Shakespeare’s authorship to Titus Andronicus, and the critics have not been shy to express their discontent of its seemingly endless violent montage. As Michael Fentiman and Harold Fuller point out of what Dr. Samuel Johnson spoke to in 1765,

Some say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in Titus Andronicus this dish is served piping hot and bloody. One of the literary themes presented is critical disability study. Critical disability is when somebody stands out from the norm. One study talks about being socially disabled and not being able to fit in with the rest of the group in the story. Another study talks about the definition of normality, and how those who don’t fit into that category affect the story as a whole. Another story talks about how being disabled in a certain way acts as a catalyst for a character and fuels their actions from then on. In Titus Andronicus each of these forms of critical disability are present. Titus and Lavinia are both crippled in a multitude of ways physically. However, there are other characters who have a disability that cripples them; Aaron the Moor, Tamora queen of the goths, and Saturninus the Emperor. They are crippled in different ways through their views and actions. These crippled characters are a major part of the story. If they were not present or the things that crippled them were not present then the story would not be viewed in the same light.

     Throught Oedipus Rex, Oedipus displays his heroism many times. From the Prologue of the play to the moment in which he leaves Thebes, Oedipus' heroics are extremely apparent; however, at the same time, the decisions which make Oedipus a hero ultimately become the decisions which bring him to shame and exile.

The Old Testament father and son relationship between Abraham and Isaac is relevant in Titus Andronicus because Shakespeare includes sacrificial parallels in the play. Additionally, although God fashioned Adam, God was compelled to invoke one true son, Jesus Christ, in order that Jesus co-reign. The significance of Jesus is that God requires a son who is like himself. For example, although Adam was fashioned by God, he was not made up of the same fiber as Christ the King. In Titus Andronicus, each parent, like God, has hopes and expectations with regard to their offspring, and each of the parents has a first born son who is the center of attention.

The creator of Titus Andronicus is William Shakespeare. The subject I pick that identifies with current circumstances is revenge. Revenge is the activity of incurring hurt or mischief on somebody for a harm or wrong endured at their hands. The literary text I will use to examine the content is personification. The reason personification is significant in the play is on account of Tamora suspected that Titus was insane and came to visit him dressed as revenge.

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.

In fact, the two characters in Shakespeare’s plays are very significant since their stance against the damaged honor is similar. Titus and Hamlet have their own individual moral standpoints on taking revenge in which one display emotional outbursts that is Titus and another shows maturity of thought while

There is such a considerable amount of violence in Titus, varying in intensity and degree that it might seem hard to draw any firm conclusions about its impact. One can, however, obtain the idea that the violence within the play has a far greater impact on both the audience and the on-stage characters when accompanied by a rhetoric or language that either juxtaposes or reinforces the brutality. The way in which characters react to violence, evident through their speech and imagery, can manipulate our responses to them and instil either an affinity or indifference to their personalities. Titus' first appearance in Act I Scene I is an example of this manipulation. His cold, calculating rejection of Tamora's plea for her son's life, juxtaposed with the solemn, funeral rhetoric give us the impression of a character who can flit between brutality and normality very easily, and who demonstrates little compassion when doing so.

Tamora and Lavinia, the two main female characters in Titus Andronicus, have to put up others underestimating them, but both women prove they are capable of taking matters into their own hands and get revenge on the people who have done them wrong. Though they were taken advantage of and hurt in many ways they both found a way to get revenge in the end.

Advance Thy Name: The Many Faces of Honour in Titus Andronicus It is no wonder that two of the words used most often in Shakespeare’s iconic revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus, are “honour” and its converse “dishonour.” Preserving the first and avoiding the second seem to be Titus’ two primary motivations during the action of the play. It is not her peace of mind that Lavinia loses when she is so cruelly defiled by Demetrius and Chiron, but her honour. Mutius is executed not because he betrays his father, but because he dishonours him.

The Iliad, the Greek epic documented by Homer that describes the battles and events of the ten year siege on Troy by the Greek army. Both Trojans and Greeks had their fair share of heroes and warriors, but none could match the skill and strength of the swift runner, Achilles. Achilles had the attributes of a perfect warrior with his god-like speed and combat abilities. However, even though he was Greek’s greatest warrior, he still possessed several flaws that made him fit the role of the Tragic Hero impeccably. Defined by Aristotle, a Tragic Hero is someone who possesses a high status of nobility and greatness, but must have imperfections so that mere mortals cannot relate to the hero. Lastly, the Tragic Hero’s downfall must be partially

Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King is Sophocles’s first play of “The Theban Cycle.” It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character.