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Aaron: Moor Than Just A Villain Rape. Torture. Murder. These vile deeds are no joke. And yet, to Aaron, they are but small misfortunate events. Aaron the Moor, the diabolical mastermind in Titus Andronicus by legendary playwright William Shakespeare, is depicted as a villain who takes it upon himself to fool and ruin everyone around him. He seeks revenge and rightly so. As the only Moor in the play, Aaron is an outsider in all aspects of society. His dark skin complexion highlights his lowly status as a slave. In addition, as a Moor, he is unable to relate to either of the warring societies, the Romans and the Goths. Strangely enough, Aaron has the wisdom, power, and malicious intent to be able to command respect and manipulate many of the …show more content…
characters to their unknowingly demise. Despite Aaron’s malevolent actions and cruel indifference to others, he sheds light on his ability to have compassion and care for people other than himself, in particular, his forbidden child with his not-so-secret lover Tamora. Aaron the Moor is a villain in that he enjoys manipulating others, has no sympathy, and is sadistic. Manipulating others seems to be Aaron’s expertise.
This is prevalent as soon as he is introduced as Tamora’s lover. He uses Tamora’s new royal status to influence the result of many deaths and suffering. Overhearing Tamora’s two remaining sons, Demetrius and Chiron, argue for the love of Lavinia, Aaron immediately suggests and assists in the plotting of her rape. He points out that “the forest walks are wide and spacious, And many unfrequented plots there are, Fitted by kind for rape and villainy” (2.1, 121-123). By suggesting the woods as a convenient place to commit crime and gang raping Lavinia, Aaron displays dark power and influence over others. Additionally, he does this with little to no thought and with the utmost wicked suggestions. He shows little to no sympathy for others and enjoys manipulating others. In his plan to destroy Bassianus, he plots the murder of Bassianus and framing of Titus’s son Quintus and Martius. His ingenious plan includes a deadly trapped pitfall, a forged letter, and hidden gold that was stolen from Tamora’s …show more content…
possession. “He that had wit would think that I had none, To bury so much gold under a tree, And never after to inherit it.
Let him that thinks of me so abjectly Know that this gold must coin a stratagem, Which, cunningly effected, will beget A very excellent piece of villany: And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest That have their alms out of the empress' chest.” (2.3, 1-9) These actions fool everyone including Tamora, which indicates that even though they have a secret, “friends with benefits” relationship, he does not completely trust her. When the events unfold, everyone follows suit to Aaron’s plan and results in Bassianus’s death. Aaron’s malicious intent combined with his manipulative talent ruins the lives of
many. Sympathy does not seem to be a skillset Aaron possesses. When he receives news of his forbidden child with the empress Tamora, he protects the child with all he has, defending the child both physically when Demetrius threatens, “I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point: Nurse, give it me; my sword shall soon dispatch it” (4.2, 89-90), to which Aaron reacts, “Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up, Stay, murderous villains! will you kill your brother?” (4.2, 91-92) and vocally when Chiron claims, “It shall not live” (4.2, 84) to which Aaron responds, “It shall not die” (4.2, 85). To safeguard the child’s secrecy and life, he claims that “The empress, the midwife, and yourself: Two may keep counsel when the third's away” (4.2, 148-149) and stabs and kills the Nurse who delivered the child to Aaron. This shows his extreme care and pride over his creation. Following this, he even goes so far as to trade his own life for the protection of his first and only child when he agrees to spill the truth regarding his evil deeds to Lucius: “Lucius, save the child, And bear it from me to the empress. If thou do this, I'll show thee wondrous things, That highly may advantage thee to hear” (5.1, 54-57). This exclusive compassion provides insight to his caring, parental instincts that does not show up otherwise. Most villains convey a sense of sadism and Aaron is no exception. As Alexander Legatt stated in his playwright analysis excerpt, “it is a comedy.” Aaron satisfies sadism by taking pleasure in the pain and suffering of Titus and his two sons, Quintus and Martius. “I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand, And, when I had it, drew myself apart And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter: I pried me through the crevice of a wall When, for his hand, he had his two sons' heads; Beheld his tears, and laughed so heartily” (5.1, 113-118) Aaron lies to Titus, who cuts his hand off in vain to save his two sons, and proceeds to display the heads of Martius and Quintus along with Titus’s severed hand as trophies of his foul joke. This epitomizes Aaron’s detachment from humane emotions and his pleasure from people’s pain. As an outcast to society (the Romans) and the wilderness (the Goths), Aaron is a villain and takes revenge through manipulative crimes. With his dark complexion and Moor background, Aaron must defend himself. He questions, “is black so base a hue?” (4.2, 74). Furthermore, his relationship to Tamora is a covert one, one that does not allow his social status to change. These factors of exclusion fuel Aaron’s jealousy of acceptance by others and lead him to exact revenge through manipulative means. Even as he is sentenced to death, Aaron remains defiant and unrepentant, claiming that, “If one good deed in all my life I did, I do repent it from my very soul” (5.3, 191-192).
... 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.
A foil character in literature is a character that shows opposite characteristics, in order to emphasize qualities of the other character. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, we see several examples of character foils. The main characters, Sula and Nel are foils of the other, two opposite halves that together make a whole. In another example, we have another set of foil characters; characters that are so different that together they tell what it is to be a man, and what it is to not be a man. Despite being secondary characters in the novel, when comparing and contrasting the characters of Jude and Ajax, a picture of the definition of masculinity is drawn in Toni Morrison’s book Sula.
The relationship between civilisation and barbarity is an eminent theme in the works of antiquity, whose civilisations concerned themselves with eschewing the improper mores of the barbarous. Whether it was the savant Greeks, cosmopolitan Romans, or ascetic early Christians, barbarous behaviour was considered odious, and their supposed superiority to brutes was a source of pride. But these themes, whilst contrastive, aren't categorical; rather, they're amorphous ideas, shaped by an author's use of them in the text. This essay will examine the variance in the relationships between civility and barbarity in Milton's "Comus", and Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus (abbreviated to Titus), thus establishing how these themes are malleable ones that the author can manipulate in the text. To begin, I'll establish the versions of civility and barbarity found in these texts, then I'll examine the texts apropos to several other topics, which shall further define and contrast their relationships between civility and barbarity.
Shakespeare is known for his eloquent word choice and illusive images, and Titus Andronicus is no exception to that. Titus Andronicus being focused around blood, rape and murder, has to be conveyed in a very specific way to promote the concise narrative Shakespeare imagined. More specifically as shown in act 2 scene 1, Shakespeare makes sure the reader knows the background behind Tamora and Aarons complex relationship. In this monologue Aaron addresses Tamora and his love for her using images, cultural references, and poetic devices to further support his desires. Through specific descriptions and illusive images, Shakespeare sets forth scene 2 by alluding to the reader Aarons true intentions to take advantage of Tamora and her power to seek vengeance on Rome.
The audience never witnesses Aaron's supposed teachings however, nor is it likely that if he were to continue living as before that he would commit the acts he pledges himself to as he is to be hanged (Act V Scene I Lines 125-144). Aaron talks of evil and trickery, while Tamora lives its epitome, marrying herself into the queen-ship of the conquering tribe. When presented with his child Aaron does care for it, and only agrees to speak upon the condition that it shall be saved. This insight into his character makes him seem almost a worthier person than Titus who murders his own sons. The villain shows more care for his kin than the hero does for his. This serves to make Aaron a more realistic villain by making him more human.
He uses two fables to try to warn her not to go through with it which were The Tale of the Ox and the Donkey and The Tale of the Merchant and His Wife. In the Ox and the Donkey, the donkey told the ox that he should fake being sick so that he could avoid doing any work. What the donkey did not know is that the merchant can understand animal language and tricks the donkey into doing the ox’s work for him. The message the vizier tries to make his daughter get out of the story is that if she is not sure that her plan will work then she might die because of her own mistake. The vizier says to his daughter “You, my daughter, will likewise perish because of your miscalculation”
It is stacked into pontoons as ruin, gave out in bowed bars as corridor blessings, covered in the earth as fortune, enduring underground as an insistence of a people 's magnificent past and an epitaph for it. Before the end of the sonnet, gold has experienced a radiation the Christian vision. It is not that it yet measures up to wealth in the medieval feeling of common defilement, simply that its status as the metal of the sum total of what esteem has been placed in uncertainty, however in the movie gold was a symbol of moral corruption if
The premise of the play Titus Andronicus can be easily summed up in one word. That word is simply ‘honor’. Honor means a different thing today than it did during the Roman Empire or Shakespeare’s life, but it is important to know honor’s definition in order to understand Titus Andronicus. Honor was used to justify murdering multiple times throughout the play. Titus killed two of his own children to protect his honor. Titus’s honor was also destroyed by Lavinia being raped and mutilated and Aaron tricking Titus into cutting off his hand, an important symbol of his honor. The word ‘honor’ has a huge impact on the play Titus Andronicus.
Within both Titus Andronicus and Othello both by William Shakespeare the reader is introduced to the concept of a black man within a white society. Stigmas and stereotypes are attached to the black characters of Aaron and Othello. Although each black character has a similar stigma, the characters are very different from one another. Aaron is portrayed as evil, conniving and malevolent, while Othello has none of these traits. Othello's fault lies in the fact that he is very gullible and easily led.
Her confession then confirms that Desdemona was faithful and did not deserve to die and as a result she shows one that love can be foolish and naïve. Her love and loyalty to Iago causes her to deceive her friend and this ends with both women being killed because the love they possessed for too foolish men. Othello is responsible for murdering Desdemona; Iago is
He goes on further to offer pieces of his kingdom to his daughters as a form of reward to his test of love. " Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love, Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters (Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state), Which of you shall we say doth love us most? That we our largest bounty may extend where nature doth with merit challenge."
“Afterwards, I found out the envelope contained twenty-five guilders, representing Father’s surrender of me to him.” (84)
Shakespeare's use of timeless themes make his works relevant to the modern reader. His two plays "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello" deal with the seeking of revenge and forbidden love. In "The Merchant of Venice," Shylock, the main character, is a Jew who loans money and charges interest. Shylock has an enemy named Antonio who also loans money to people, but without interest. Iago is a character in "Othello" who has been passed over for a position as Othello's right hand man. He feels that he deserves the position not the person who received it, Cassio. Both of these characters want revenge from the people whom they perceive as having done them wrong and will stop at nothing to have their way. In other words, Shylock and Iago are similar in that they want revenge. However, there are also many differences in each character that demonstrate that they are in many ways polar opposites.
what he desires most is the Portia's hand so the gold must be the correct
“If a Jew wrongs a Christian, what is his humility? Shakespeare shows here that money doesn’t have the same effect on love as it does with the caskets or with the evil in Shylock, and that it can be used for good love in Portia’s donation. In Venice, Bassanio brings fourth the 6000 ducats to repay Shylock, but he doesn’t accept it. Once Portia, disguised as the doctor, entered the court, she pleads with Shylock to show mercy, but he refuses.