Shakespeares Titus Andronicus - A Powerful Tragedy Essay -- Titus And

Shakespeares Titus Andronicus - A Powerful TragedyTitus Andronicus is a play marked by acts of horrid violence and littered with death and the destruction of others. Each violent act, however, serves to explain and sometimes encourage the motives of the plays memorable characters and impart a very tightly tortuous 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 triumph of the story.Shakespeares sources for the play are quite clear. He makes it no secret that the rape of Lavinia is analogous to the rape of Philomela in Ovids Metamorphosis. In this tale, The daughter of the King of Athens, Procne, marries the King of Thrace, Tereus, and the devil of them have a son, Itys. After a number of years, Procne desperately wishes to see her sister, Philomela, and sends Tereus back to Athens to bring her to Thrace. When Tereus sees Philomela, he becomes obsessed with her and carries her into the forest, rapes her and cuts out her tongue to resist her from telling anyone. Upon returning to Thrace, he informs his wife that Philomela is dead. In the meantime, Philomela weaves her story into a cloth and sends it to Procne. Procne becomes so enraged by this knowledge that she and Philomela plot and kill Itys, limit his flesh and serve it to Tereus. He discovers their ploy and tries to kill them, but Philomela is changed into a nightingale, Procne a swallow and Tereus a hoopoe (Bullough, vi. 48-58). This exhibits a very distinct parallel. Demetrius and Chiron use the same measures to prevent Lavinia from disclosing their deeds, though Shakespeare (always improving on his sources) to... ... to become wrapped up in his evil schemes. Also, like Richard III, the character of Aaron the Moor has a peachy deal of staying power, and we continue to see characters like him four-hundred years later. Titus Andronicus is very successfu l as a catastrophe. Second guessing of the characters actions is held to a minimum because most of the tragedy is imposed by the other characters revenge tactics. The notable characters are easily distinguishable because of their very distinct personalities. Titus and Aaron are a prime example of this graphic symbol of opposition. The solid plot, memorable characters and striking depiction of violence combine to make Titus Andronicus one of Shakespeares best works.Works CitedBullough, Geoffrey. Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare , 8 vols. (1964-75) Waith, Eugene M. ed. Titus Andronicus. Oxford Clarendon Press. 1984.