Juxtaposition Of Lavinia's Monologue In Odysseus

In this passage, Titus expresses his grief and mourning through a monologue, in which he

illustrates his agonies. He presents this passage purely in blank verse, this suggests Titus’

mental instability but also intensity and passion as he talks through a flow of spoken thought,

in the sense of his grief. With his sons being taken for execution, he describes his current

state as ‘environed with a wilderness of sea’, suggesting he is enclosed in the unknown,

emphasising his disorientation. He talks through his family’s afflictions, with his ‘wretched

sons’ gone, the use of wretched here indicates their unfortunate states and the hardship

that has been inflicted upon them. Also, his other son, ‘a banished man’ , and his brother

who weeps at Titus’ ‘woes’ , this word use emphasises Titus’ sympathy he has for himself

and his distresses.

However, he goes on to say that what hurts his soul the most, ‘the

greatest spurn’ , is Lavinia and her hurting. The use of spurning his soul indicates how much

Lavinia actually means to Titus, also compared to his sons, which he hasn’t described in

such intensity. He also describes Lavinia as being ‘dearer than (his) soul’ , illustrating how

she means more to him than he does to himself. The caesura in this line is Titus presenting

and emphasising a declaration of his devotion to Lavinia. As well as caesura, enjambment is

used quite often within Titus’ monologue, for example ‘wave by wave,’ and ‘sons are gone;’

this increases the speed at which the reader will read, consequently rising the sense of

ambiguity, it also gives an essence of Titus reflecting upon himself. However, Titus

describes Lavinia’s pain as ‘martyred’ , which to the opposition of Titus’ current stance for

Lavinia, accuses this pain as exaggerated for a degree of sympathy. On the other hand
he refers to Lavinia’s state, after her husband’s death which her brothers have been

accused of, as a ‘lily almost withered’ , suggesting that all that has happened to her has not

defeated her, this description also indicates how women are referred to flowers, and

how

they are seemed as delicate, and although she is able to conquer her hands being cut off

and tongue being cut out, she is still seen as an object of delicacy. As Lavinia cries, but

without a tongue she cannot say why, Marcus believes she is crying either because her

brothers kill her husband, or she believes they are innocent and cannot do anything about it.

Either way, Titus becomes infatuated with the idea of revenge, ‘law hath ta’en revenge on

them’ , and say that her brothers are ‘condemned’ and will be dead by this time. His

sympathy for Lavinia has caused him to completely turn on his sons, making him believe

they deserve this punishment.

Shakespeare, within Titus’ monologue, uses a lot of references to nature, mostly to the sea

and water, potentially, as that is the place of no escape if you get caught in it, parallel to his

position and how he is feeling. As previously discussed, his feeling of being in a ‘wilderness

of sea’ suggests how Titus sees himself as a victim, and how he is lost in this state of

adversity. Another nature reference is ‘wave by wave’ , indicating that he is hit with

tragedies over and over again, and it has the impact of if a wave hit him, and caused him to

stray out into this ‘wilderness’ . He uses words such as ‘surge’ , which create the effect of

being captured and having no release, he describes the surge to also be ‘envious’

,

personifying the force, creating a more vivid image. To describe his tears, he uses the image

of a ‘flood’ , a dramatic exaggeration, and a potential comedic effect, as the excessive

description creates an implausible feel. Shakespeare also uses the technique of analogy, at
this point in Titus’ speech, it becomes quite lyrical, although remains in blank verse, ‘they are

stained, like meadows yet not dry’ , implying with, that they have not yet stopped crying

but they will soon stop, but for now the tears remain and have stained their cheeks

as a result. This side of Titus contrasts to the following sentence, where he suggests that

they should cut of their hands and tongue in order to commiserate with Lavinia. Although his

language went of tangent, in which it became subtle and referenced nature, the essence of

violence still emerges, displaying his disorientation with the events that have impacted him.