William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that vengeful acts, especially in Renaissance drama, are often countered by a more heinous act of violence as seen in the climatic scene of William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" in which a mother is forced into cannibalizing her children. The author demonstrates that the mode of this final vengeance is inevitable because every act of revenge within this play involves consumption and cannibalism either through its language or through a connection to the play's parent story in Ovid's "Metamorphoses". For example, the bloody head of a son being returned to father in "Titus Andronicus" is extremely reminiscent of Ovid's "Metamorphoses". The paper concludes that the theme of both plays is that one ill cannot cure another.

From the Paper:

"While Itys is not personally responsible for the dishonor caused to his mother and her family, he reminds his mother enough of his father that she justifies her killing of him. This is then reminiscent of Lavinia's treatment by the Goths. In a similar way, Lavinia seems to be "the scapegoat for Andronici violence," while also playing a role in the cyclic revenge of the play due to her "intrinsically polluted condition" as a woman. With Lavinia's rape (rather the panning thereof), there too is the characteristic language of consumption that is present in all the play's acts of revenge."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. (New York: Washington Square Press, 2005).
• Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd Edition, 1989. < http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00302175?query_type=word&queryword=mark&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=6&search_id=v5s2-eDbwNU-13183&hilite=00302175
• Ovid. Excerpt from Metamorphoses. Translated by Arthur Golding in Titus Andronicus. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. (New York: Washington Square Press, 2005).
• Noble, Louise Christine. "'And Make Two Pasties of Your Shameful Heads': Medicinal Cannibalism and Healing the Body Politic in Titus Andronicus." (: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003).

More papers on William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus":

• Analytical Essay # 88654 : "Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" and "Henry IV"
• Book Review # 114298 : "Dramatic Language in "Titus Andronicus"
• Analytical Essay # 42424 : "Titus Andronicus"

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