StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Titus andronicus by william shakespeare - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Everywhere in the play there are instances of various forms of monstrosity, and they all reinforce one another, in a display of what can be construed as the fate of man when he allows himself to be totally overrun by his earthly and animal passions, ambitions and desires. This…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.6% of users find it useful
Titus andronicus by william shakespeare
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Titus andronicus by william shakespeare"

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Table of Contents The Monstrous as Gratuitous and Remorseless: On Titus Andronicus 3 Works Cited 6 The Monstrous as Gratuitous and Remorseless: On Titus AndronicusEverywhere in the play there are instances of various forms of monstrosity, and they all reinforce one another, in a display of what can be construed as the fate of man when he allows himself to be totally overrun by his earthly and animal passions, ambitions and desires. This paper looks at monstrosity in the form of murder, and posits that in two close reading passages, what makes murder monstrous is the gratuitous and remorseless way in which the murders were accomplished, seemingly going going against some very fundamental aversions present in more ordinary men towards killing done in such an inhuman way.

In the first passage chosen for this paper, Titus Andronicus tells Saturninus that he in fact killed his two sons, and then proceeded to mix their flesh with pie, which their mother then unwittingly ate: “Why, there they are both, baked in that pie;/ Whereof their mother daintily hath fed,/ Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. Tis true, tis true; witness my knifes sharp point. (Shakespeare). In this passage two things are worth noting. One is that Titus seemed to be proud of the fact that he had killed two people, and both of them the sons of the person he is addressing.

If this were an act of revenge, or an act where a noble man kills men who were evil and had done some terrible wrong to others, then this boasting would have remained within the confines of sane narration. What makes this killing so monstrous is that Titus was not content with killing the two sons, but we read between the lines that he had prepared their flesh and mixed them with pie, precisely so he could feed the flesh of her dead sons to their mother. There is no sense to this, and no justification, other than to show that Titus lacked remorse.

It was unnecessary to do things this way. The purpose of the monstrous in this case seems to be just to demonstrate how inhuman the whole cascade of events was. The killing and the subsequent baking and feeding of the pie to the mother was gratuitous, totally uncalled for by the turn of events. This aspect of the killing is what makes the act so monstrous and totally inhuman (Shakespeare). Elsewhere we see just how Titus killed the two sons. He did so with the help of Lavinia, who held the basin that caught the blood from the slit throats of the two brothers.

We understand that Lavinia suffered much from the two, but the measure of her revenge seemed to go beyond the bounds of what is human too. She could have just had them killed, but she chose to see the killing, and she chose to do so in that ghastly way. As for Titus we see that in his machinations too, he had gone overboard and had far transgressed what could be called human (Shakespeare): Receive the blood: and when that they are dead,/ Let me go grind their bones to powder small/ And with this hateful liquor temper it; / And in that paste let their vile heads be baked.

/ Come, come, be every one officious/ To make this banquet; which I wish may prove/ More stern and bloody than the Centaurs feast (Shakespeare. Men of normal constitutions would not think of doing such a thing. What makes the whole speech so monstrous is that Titus seems to have been going through this with so much remorseless deliberation. There was no double-thinking or hesitation, no qualms in the words, no moral scruples. A person seeking revenge would simply maybe just kill the person who is hated, but to think of such things as Titus had thought, and to act in ways that seem to have no grounding in ordinary human reality, is astounding, and monstrous indeed.

The purpose here seems to be to incite such feelings of disbelief and disgust from the audience, to show the extent of Titus disconnect with ordinary reality, which is to say, that the disconnect seems total. The only way to make sense of this monstrous killing is that Titus was inhuman and insane, in the same way that Lavinia too, must have gone mad by that point (Shakespeare) .Works CitedShakespeare. “Titus Andronicus Act V”. William-Shakespeare.info. 2005. Web. 4 February 2013.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Titus andronicus by william shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Titus andronicus by william shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1617261-titus-andronicus-by-william-shakespeare
(Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1617261-titus-andronicus-by-william-shakespeare.
“Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1617261-titus-andronicus-by-william-shakespeare.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Titus andronicus by william shakespeare

The relationship between Titus and his only daughter Lavinia

Name: Institution Instructor: Date: Characterizing the relationship between Titus and his only daughter Lavinia in Shakespeare's early, bloody titus andronicus and what can be made of his killing her.... When she is raped and consequently mutilated by Chiron and Demetrius, titus andronicus is brimmed with sorrow, overpowered with anger and the desire to avenge.... Why Titus killed her only daughter Lavinia Even, though, there was mutual love between titus andronicus and his only daughter Lavinia, titus andronicus only exploited Lavinia as an object that could help him satisfy or advance his personal desires....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Analysis of the Common Theme of Physical Violence

The theme of violence and cruelty dominate in both "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" and "titus andronicus".... titus andronicus is a commanding figure.... hellip; Thesis The main similarity between these works is that they portray violence and cruelty committed by men against men, thus they depict different historical epochs and different motifs of the main characters. shakespeare depicts the Roman Empire and the envy between Titus and Tamora, the queen of the Goths....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Revenge in the Contemporary Society

The two art pieces that are the film about Titus and the play of titus andronicus are good pieces of work to demonstrate what revenge can be in the aspect of the society.... hellip; Shakespeare presents two pieces of artwork of Titus and titus andronicus who appears as a sordid tale of bloodthirsty revenge in political turmoil.... Shakespeare presents two pieces of artwork of Titus and titus andronicus who appears as a sordid tale of bloodthirsty revenge in political turmoil....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Titus Andronicus - Civility vs. Barbarity

This paper 'titus andronicus - Civility vs.... hellip; In the play titus andronicus, the theme of civility vs.... titus also murders Tamora's son despite her pleadings and this is a show of barbarism.... He also shows civility by pleading with titus to allow Mutius to be buried within the family grave.... This all happens before Tamora is married by titus to become the queen.... Tamora has all along planned to have her revenge on titus....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Role of Violence and Revenge in Titus Andronicus and Film Adaptation Titus

Violence in media has been frowned upon by critics and… ers alike for decades, but it is quite essential so that the “Roman” nature of the play and film be more clearly depicted and in this particular play and movie, the use of violence is befitting as to drive home the message that revenge is always ugly and will only bring The Role of Violence and Revenge in titus andronicus and Film Adaptation Titus Many of Shakespeare's play depict the theme of vengeance butamong these, titus andronicus is notable for being the most violent....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Two Sides of the Same Coin of Revenge

Revenge is the central theme of william shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Thomas Middleton's The ngeling.... titus andronicus and The Changeling highlighted the many ways in which the plays are informed by gender ideology (21).... shakespeare and Middleton turn the tables by using a female revenger, Tamora and Beatice-Joanna, in their plays.... They chant their speeches but Marcus steps in to announce the “returns the good Andronicus to Rome” (shakespeare 1....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Relationship between Titus and His Only Daughter Lavinia in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus

While a strong character may sometimes be misinterpreted, titus shares a strong and mutual positive relationship with his daughter and loves her through all odds. titus and his daughter share a positive… titus loves her daughter and adores her.... titus metaphorically uses ‘Ornament of Rome' to mean Lavinia.... Her love for his father makes her obey him in all ways and titus believes that she would obey every decision he makes for her....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Female and Male Honor Playing Key Roles in Shakespeare

Shakespeare's literature has a way of reaching out to the people and these two books; The Two Gentlemen of Verona and titus andronicus are no exception.... Tamora in titus andronicus plays a vital role in the theme establishment.... The flow and the character role play are amazing and flaw less, the best for literature students who need to explore the… If at any time should we judge the position of women in the society, this paper will offer anyone with these patterns based on shakespeare's comedies which came during the renaissance period....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us