Ken Burkhardt, Jr.
Dr. Haley
Intro to Literature
April 4, 2014
Shakespeare and Dante
The reader is introduced to an insight of Titus Andronicus’ cruel nature, after he ignores Tamora’s cry to have her first-born son saved from his sacrifice to revenge the lives of his sons that her Goth people took. This new interpretation of Titus as a ruthless murderer heavily contradicts the reader’s first impression of Titus that Marcus gave the reader. Marcus initially leads the reader to except that Titus is good and honorable man. Titus’ sudden act of violence makes the reader realizes that he has two sides to his character: the relentless warrior and the beloved hero. However as the play unfolds, an individual can realize that everything that occurs throughout the play is connected to the initial sacrifice. It is evident that Titus’ character goes through many changes, the not one but many sides of his personality are revealed.
When Titus Andronicus’ character is studied, a reader can realize that Titus is stuck with conflict when forced to face the decision of choosing personal duties or duties of the state. Early in the play, Shakespeare lays the foundation of Titus’ character. Shakespeare initially sets up Titus to be a loyal patron to Rome. He is the commander of legions and is also a soldier who has dedicated his life to bettering the Roman Empire. Titus’ blind loyalty to Rome can be noticed as the readers discovers Titus’ neglect towards his family. Titus is so interlaced with serving Rome he fails to fulfill his duties as a father. Shakespeare, in a sense wants the reader to reflect on Titus’ character and make the conclusion that ignoring the important things, like family, will result in powerlessness and aloneness. Titus does a...
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... Aaron reveals that he is Satan. Looking deep into Shakespeare's text one can realize that Shakespeare is playing out a battle between God and Satan, where Aaron is Satan, and the little boy is God or Jesus. It is incontestable that Aaron’s satanic ways damage everybody he comes into contact with. He demonstrates his satanic characteristics as he finds joy in every life that he ruins. The little boy on the other hand is truly innocent because doesn’t make a single mistakes throughout the entirety of the play. Because the little boy is never sinful by thought, word, or deed in the play, he can be portrayed as God or Christ. In the movie of Titus Andronicus the little boy ventures off with Aaron’s son. This can be portrayed as God saving His lost child from the dark and sinful grasp of Satan. Maybe this is what Shakespeare is trying to convey in this part of his play.
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes.
... work is timeless. The permanence of this play is owed to a clever intermingling of opposing belief systems. Shakespeare took the ancient contrasting themes of revenge and Christianity, he tossed in hypocrisy, and he mixed them up with the judgmental fingers of Tamora and Aaron. Although the legalistic demands of the Andronicus family are met with a storm of indictments of hypocrisy by the non-religious Tamora and Aaron, there is one unifying factor. All can agree on the importance of the first born son.
One of the distinguishing factors in portraying Titus centers in its origin: "Titus Andronicus [...] must be considered as an experimental play" (Bowers 118). Being Shakespeare's first attempt at tragedy, it obviously has room for error. Yet, as some critics and scholars would say, I believe there is a similar element found in all of Shakespeare's works, no matter when they were written: "Shakespeare constantly reminds us that the character's predicament and humanity is very like our own" (Barton 184). No matter what the plot is, or where he chose to set the story, Shakespeare captures a fundamental element of humanity. Within Titus Andronicus, it is undoubtedly humanity's search for revenge: "Titus Andronicus is a play of social piety, outrage, suffering, and revenge" (Barber 133). The first three elements that Barber attributes to the work are consequential to the fourth; it is the revenge and spite of Titus, Tamora, and Aaron that fuel the other three elements.
"Now I've exposed my guilt, horrendous guilt, could I train a level glance on you, my countrymen? No, if I could just block off my ears, the springs of hearing, I would stop at nothing---I'd wall up my own loathsome body like a prison, blind to the sound of life, not just the sigght. Oblivion---what a blessing... for the mind to dwell a world away from pain
...haracters to compliment Shakespeare’s work. With the opening she captures the aspect of war without using the original opening. Instead she uses a child and modernizes it. In ACT III SCENE I. Rome. A Street, she examines every word and portrays the art of revenge, loss and justice. She digs into the bible and relates them to Titus and his morals and actions. Taymor made many interesting choices when directing Titus, many staying true to the book, and character analysis bringing Titus Andronicus to a visual art.
The main character in the play is Titus Andronicus while the antagonists are Tamora, Aaron and Saturninus. Titus is a roman hero because he has aided in defeating the Goths. On the other hand, he has lost his own sons through conflicts. In the play, he has a strong urge of revenge. Saturninus, late emperor of Rome’s son, does not obey the authority. Bassiunus is Lavinnia’s lover. Tamora is the Goth’s queen with a strong urge to revenge because her son, Alarbus, was executed. Aaron is a moor who has been given evil personification. Marcus, Titus’s brother, always defends the rights of the people. Titus’s sons include: Lucius, Quintus, Martius and Murtius. Publius is Marcus Andronicus son. Sons of Tamora are Alarbus, Larbus, Demetrious and Chiron. Lavinnia is a vey innocent girl who suffers from unpleasant offenses.
Titus Andronicus has had a fair share of mixed reviews over the last centuries but has still remained a work of fascinating symbolism as well as a violent, poetic story. The story was meant to entertain the lower classes of England at the time who enjoyed such activities as bear baiting, where a bear would have its claws and teeth pulled out before being tied to a post where savage pitt-bulls would bite it to death (White). The people of sixteenth century England were also very accustomed to public hangings and torturous punishments. Colin Burrow, a researcher of early Tudor literature, noted that, "Cruelty is part of Shakespeare's World and it generates a high proportion of the energy into his drama." (Smith 4). When the play was first published, it received exceptional reviews, but later it was spat on as one of the most disgustingly violent and worse written Shakespeare play. How did the reviews turn so sour so quickly? The culture at the time had the most to do with it. With such violent epics such as The Godfather, Scarface, Natural Born Killers, and Pulp Fiction, it is no wonder that Titus Andronicus has once again revealed itself to the masses as an entertaining piece of work. The idolization of violent entertainment in recent years is the reason for the increase of appeal towards Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.
As punishment for her vengeance of the death of her son, Titus feeds Tamora and stabs her following her realization of what she has just eaten. In her death, Tamora is represented with animal imagery, as Lucius refers to the Queen of Goths. Unlike Tamora, in Lavinia’s death is not punishment but rather a way to purge her of her shame. As Titus kills his daughter and her “shame.” These final deaths reflect the horrible violence against women in defense of the values of the misogynistic and patriarchal Roman society. The contrast of characterization in both Tamora and Lavinia, conqueror and conquered, and their shared ultimate demise reflects the paradox of choice in the role of women. Despite Lavinia’s virtue and Tamora’s powers of manipulation, neither is able to survive through the culture of
Throughout reading this play, the audience must make the hard decision between whether or not they believe Brutus’ motives were justifiable, or if Caesar was the victim of a cruel, heinous crime. This opens up the question, is murder ever justifiable? Linda Fudge, a resident of Irvington, New Jersey, was cornered and raped in a dark alley in the summer of 2002. The assailant was brought to justice, but Linda got the shocking news she was pregnant. Only 23 years old, single and afraid of having a child, Linda made the hard decision to have an abortion.
Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is based on the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He is very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code.
Throughout this play, readers see what the motives of Cassius, Brutus, and Antony drive each of them to do, and how this affects their outcomes. Though these motives did not lead to a tragic downfall for each of these characters, motives are often taken too far. They prove to be so strong that they blind characters from making educated decisions and having a sense of rationality. The many deaths in this play all started out with one person being motivated to do something, and one things leads to another. Motivation fueled by loyalty can be just as dangerous as motivation fueled by hatred. The strength of that motivation is what can really make it dangerous, and cause lives to be lost.
With so many words making up the content of plays, it is difficult for one, single word to make much of an impact. However, the word ‘honor’ does just that in the play Titus Andronicus. Honor means different things to different people, and this is quite evident in the tragedy that is Titus Andronicus. The definition of honor has changed throughout the history of man. The character for which the play is named, Titus, puts his honor and the honor of Rome before anything else. In the play, honor is used as justification for wrongful actions. There are murders that happen in the name of honor. Honor is also lost by some and taken from others. Although small in size, the word honor plays a large role in Titus Andronicus.
The Shakespearean play of Hamlet captures the audience with many suspenseful and devastating themes including betrayal. Some of the most loved characters get betrayed by who they thought loved them most. The things these characters do to the people they love are wrong, hurtful and disappointing. These examples lead to the destruction of many characters physically and emotionally. The characters in the play who committed the act of betrayal end up paying for what they have done in the form of death, either from nature, their selfishness, disloyalty and madness. The act of betrayal truly captures and displays the play of Hamlet as a sad tragedy.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.