Metaphors In Titus Andronicus

The play, Titus Andronicus, is almost bursting with disfigured and distorted bodies. The most obvious and apparent of these is Lavinia, who is raped and has her tongue and hands cut off. In addition, one of Titus’ hands hand’s is chopped off, and the remaining dead body parts of Demetrius and Chiron are cut up and made into a pie that Titus serves Tamora in the final act. All this bodily disfigurement can be related to a common metaphor that personifies the empire of Rome as a body. For example, when Marcus wants Titus to become emperor of Rome, he tells him to “set a head on headless Rome.” Similarly, at the end of the play, Marcus promises to restore Rome, saying that he will “knit...these broken limbs again into one body.”
Not only the

head but also the hands and tongue take on great significance in the play, each individually representing action and speech. Lavinia has both her hands and her tongue taken from her, Titus has one hand chopped off, and the Andronici in general find their tongues to be ineffectual instruments when pitted against the corrupt leadership of Saturninus and Tamora.
The symbolic references to hands in the play are quite numerous, in Titus Andronicus the hands of characters well transcend its thematic and literal meaning. The constant talk of hands demonstrates Titus' maddened state, his relentless thoughts on his own ineffectiveness, and the misery of his family, which eventually explodes into violence in Act Five. Furthermore, Titus in act 3 of the play loses a hand; and this is basically the start of when his actions essentially appear to become ineffective, and he seemingly begins to go mad.
Likewise, it is important to notice which characters' tongues are effectual, and which characters aren't. Throughout the play, the Andronici are revealed as somewhat inept in terms of expression and language. Their speech is often inappropriate; for example, Marcus' long and inappropriate speech when meeting the mutilated Lavinia; In Act 2 scene 4, upon seeing Lavinia’s hands and tongue cut off he proceeds to give quite a long soliloquy consisting of attempting to get her to tell him of her attackers, then comparing her to Philomel from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, then lamenting on how Lavinia will never be able to sew or play the lute (instrument) now that she has no hands. Only after speaking about all of this, whilst Lavinia is slowly bleeding, does he choose to help her get home.
If you place this in contrast to Aaron's tongue, on the other hand, is sharp and clear. For example, he tells Lucius while he is being tortured, "If there be devils, would I were a devil, / To live and burn in everlasting fire, / So I might have your company in hell / But to torment you with my bitter tongue." Throughout the entire play Aaron constantly uses his tongue to its maximum effectiveness, he uses it relentlessly as one of his only weapons against the Andronici. Even at the play's end, though his body is contained, his tongue and free speech, is not.
To conclude, Shakespeare’s representation of action and power through the symbolic reference of hands and tongues is evident through key characters such as Marcus, Lavinia, Titus and Aaron.