NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus may be Shakespeare's earliest tragedy, believed to be written sometime between 1584 and the early 1590s. It depicts a factual record of a Roman general engaged in a cycle of revenge with his enemy Tamora, the Queen of the Goths. The play is by far Shakespeare's bloodiest work. The play lost popularity during the Victorian era because of its gore, and has only recently begun to revive its fortunes. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (607x1069, 301 KB) Summary Title page of the first quarto of Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare, published 1594 Licensing The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (607x1069, 301 KB) Summary Title page of the first quarto of Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare, published 1594 Licensing The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries... Quarto has several meanings: In bookbinding and publishing, quarto indicates the book size which results when four leaves of the book are created from a standard size sheet of paper. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Tragedy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Revenge (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ...

Date and text

Most scholars date the play to the early 1590s. In his Arden edition, Jonathan Bate points out that on 24 January 1594, it was apparently listed as a new play in Philip Henslowe's diary. However, Bate reports that many scholars have doubted its newness in 1594, given that Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair (1614) describes the play as 25 to 30 years old, which would date it to ca. 1584-89. ^[1] The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout The First Folio is the name given by modern scholars to the first published collection of William Shakespeares plays; its actual title is Mr. ... Jonathan Bate CBE (born June 26, 1958) is a British scholar of Shakespeare, Romanticism and Ecocriticism. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 27 - Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims. ... Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ... Bartholomew Fair is a play in five acts by Ben Jonson. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ...

The play was published in three separate quarto editions prior to the First Folio of 1623, which are referred to as Q1, Q2, and Q3 by Shakespeare scholars. The play was entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on Feb. 6, 1594, by the printer John Danter. Danter sold the rights to the booksellers Thomas Millington and Edward White; they issued the first quarto edition (Q1) later that year, with printing done by Danter. The title page is unusual in that it assigns the play to three different companies of actors—Pembroke's Men, Derby's Men, and Sussex's Men. White published Q2 in 1600 (printed by James Roberts), and Q3 in 1611 (printed by Edward Allde). The First Folio text (1623) was printed from Q3 with an additional scene, III, ii. Quarto has several meanings: In bookbinding and publishing, quarto indicates the book size which results when four leaves of the book are created from a standard size sheet of paper. ... The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout The First Folio is the name given by modern scholars to the first published collection of William Shakespeares plays; its actual title is Mr. ... The Stationers Register was a journal maintained by the Stationers Company of London. ... The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. ... The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers. ... The Earl of Pembrokes Men was an Elizabethan era playing company, or troupe of actors, in English Renaissance theatre. ... Lord Stranges Men was an Elizabethan playing company, comprising retainers of the household of Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange. ...

Q1 is regarded as a reasonably "good" (complete and reliable) text, and is the basis for most modern editions, although it does not include some material found in the First Folio. Only a single copy is known to exist today. Q2 appears to be based on a damaged copy of Q1, as it is a good reproduction of the Q1 text, but is missing a number of lines. Two copies are known to exist today. Q3 appears to be a further degradation of the Q2 text: it includes a number of corrections to Q2, but introduces even more errors. The First Folio text of 1623 seems to be based on the Q3 text, but also includes material found in none of the quarto editions, including the entirety of Act 3, Scene 2 (in which Titus seems to be losing his sanity). This scene is generally regarded as authentic and included in modern editions of the play.

None of the three quarto editions name the author (as was normal in the publication of playtexts in the early 1590s). However, Francis Meres lists the play as one of Shakespeare's tragedies in a publication of 1598, and the editors of the First Folio included it among his works. Despite this, Shakespeare's full authorship has been doubted. In the introduction to his 1678 adaptation of the play (printed nine years later, in 1687), Edward Ravenscroft states: "I have been told by some anciently conversant with the Stage, that it was not Originally his, but brought by a private Author to be Acted, and he only gave some Master-touches to one or two Principal Parts or Characters". ^[2] There are problems with Ravenscroft's statement: the old men "conversant with the Stage" could not have been more than children when Titus was written, and Ravenscroft may be biased, since he uses the story to justify his alterations of Shakespeare's play. However, the story has been used to bolster arguments that another author was partly responsible. March 14 - Battle of Ivry - Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne. ... Francis Meres (1565 - January 29, 1647), was an English churchman and author. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... The title page of the First Folio with the famous engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout The First Folio is the name given by modern scholars to the first published collection of William Shakespeares plays; its actual title is Mr. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ... Edward Ravenscroft (1654?â€“1707), English dramatist, belonged to an ancient Flintshire family. ...

The principal candidate is the dramatist George Peele, whose linguistic characteristics have been detected in both the first act, and the scene in which Lavinia uses Ovid's Metamorphoses to explain that she has been raped.^[3] The assertion of Peele's hand in the play remains controversial, however, and those who admire the play tend to argue against it.^[4] It has even been posited that Shakespeare didn't write Titus Andronicus at all; for example, the 19th century Globe Illustrated Shakespeare goes so far as to claim there was a general agreement on the matter due to the un-Shakespearean "barbarity" of the play's action. George Peele (1558 - c. ... For other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Performance

Although Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, it is hard to say exactly how early it is. The anonymous play A Knack to Know a Knave, acted in 1592, alludes to Titus and the Goths, which clearly indicates Shakespeare's play, since other versions of the Titus story involve Moors, not Goths. Philip Henslowe's diary records performances of a Titus and Vespasian in 1592-93, and some critics have identified this with Shakespeare's play.^[5] Year 1592 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see moor. ... Philip Henslowe (c 1550 - January 6, 1616) was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur. ...

In January and February of 1594, Sussex's Men gave three performances of Titus Andronicus; two more performances followed in June of the same year, at the Newington Butts theatre, by either the Admiral's Men or the Lord Chamberlain's Men. A private performance occurred in 1596 at Sir John Harington's house in Rutland. Events February 27 - Henry IV is crowned King of France at Rheims. ... Newington Butts is a short road in Southwark, London, England, leading south-west from the Elephant and Castle. ... This Elizabethan theatrical company was first known as the Lord Howards Men, named after their patron Charles Howard. ... The Lord Chamberlains Men was the playing company that William Shakespeare worked for as actor and playwright for most of his career. ... Sir John Harington (August 4, 1561 â€“ November 20, 1612) was a courtier and author. ...

In the Restoration, the play was performed in 1678 at Drury Lane, in an adaptation by Edward Ravenscroft. The eighteenth-century actor James Quin considered Aaron, the villain in Titus, one of his favorite roles.^[6] For other uses, see Restoration. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... Currently home to Lord Of The Rings, the musical. ... Edward Ravenscroft (1654?â€“1707), English dramatist, belonged to an ancient Flintshire family. ... James Quin (February 24, 1693 - January 21, 1766), English actor of Irish descent, was born in London. ...

Characters

Synopsis

The Emperor of Rome has died, and his sons Saturninus and Bassianus are squabbling over who will succeed him. The Tribune of the People, Marcus Andronicus, announces that the people's choice for new emperor is his brother, Titus Andronicus, a Roman general newly returned from ten years' campaigning against the empire's foes, the Goths. Titus enters Rome to much fanfare, bearing with him Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her sons, and Aaron the Moor. Titus feels a religious duty to sacrifice Tamora’s eldest son Alarbus, in order to avenge his sons, dead from the war, and allow them to rest in peace. Tamora begs for the life of Alarbus, but Titus refuses her pleas. Tamora secretly plans for horrible revenge on Titus and all of his remaining sons. Ordinary Magistrates Extraordinary Magistrates Titles and Honors Emperor Politics and Law Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by 2-3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ...

Titus Andronicus refuses the throne in favour of the late emperor's eldest son Saturninus, much to Saturninus' delight. The two agree that Saturninus will marry Titus' daughter Lavinia. However, Bassianus was previously betrothed to the girl. Titus' surviving sons help them escape the marriage. In the fighting, Titus kills his son Mutius. Titus is at first angry at his sons for bringing what he sees as dishonor upon his name, but his anger is eventually softened by Saturninus. The new emperor, Saturninus, marries Tamora instead. Betrothal is a formal state of engagement to be married. ...

During a hunting party the next day, Tamora's lover, Aaron the Moor, meets Tamora's sons Chiron and Demetrius. The two are arguing over which should take sexual advantage of the newlywed Lavinia. They are easily persuaded by Aaron to ambush Bassianus and kill him in the presence of Tamora and Lavinia, in order to have their way with her. Lavinia begs Tamora to stop her sons, but Tamora refuses. Chiron and Demetrius take Lavinia away and rape her over her husband's body. To keep her from revealing what she's seen and endured, they cut out her tongue and cut off her hands.

Aaron brings Titus' sons Martius and Quintus to the scene and frames them for the murder of Bassianus with a forged letter outlining their plan to kill him. Angry, the Emperor arrests them. Marcus then discovers Lavinia and takes her to her father. When she and Titus are reunited, he is overcome with grief. He and his remaining son Lucius have begged for the lives of Martius and Quintus, but the two are found guilty and are marched off to execution. Aaron enters, and falsely tells Titus, Lucius, and Marcus that the emperor will spare the prisoners if one of the three sacrifices a hand. Each demands the right to do so, but it is Titus who has Aaron cut off his (Titus') hand and take it to the emperor. In return, a messenger brings Titus the heads of his sons. Desperate for revenge, Titus orders Lucius to flee Rome and raise an army among their former enemy, the Goths.

Later, Titus' grandson (Lucius' son), who has been helping Titus read to Lavinia, complains that she won't leave his book alone. In the book, she indicates to Titus and Marcus the story of Philomela, in which a similarly mute victim "wrote" the name of her wrongdoer. Marcus gives her a stick to hold with her mouth and stumps and she writes the names of her attackers in the dirt. Titus vows revenge. Feigning madness, he ties written prayers for justice to arrows and commands his kinsmen to aim them at the sky. Marcus directs the arrows to land inside the palace of Saturninus, who is enraged by this. He confronts the Andronici and orders the execution of a Clown who had delivered a further supplication from Titus. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Itys, Procne and Tereus (Discuss) In Greek mythology, Philomela was a daughter of Pandion I, King of Athens and Zeuxippe and a sister of Procne. ...

Tamora delivers a mixed-race child, and the nurse can tell it must have been fathered by Aaron. Aaron kills the nurse and flees with the baby to save it from the Emperor's inevitable wrath. Later, Lucius, marching on Rome with an army, captures Aaron and threatens to hang the infant. To save the baby, Aaron reveals the entire plot to Lucius, relishing every murder, rape, and dismemberment.

Tamora, convinced of Titus' madness, approaches him along with her two sons, dressed as the spirits of Revenge, Murder, and Rape. She tells Titus that she (as a supernatural spirit) will grant him revenge if he will convince Lucius to stop attacking Rome. Titus agrees, sending Marcus to invite Lucius to a feast. "Revenge" (Tamora) offers to invite the Emperor and Tamora, and is about to leave, but Titus insists that "Rape" and "Murder" (Chiron and Demetrius) stay with him. She agrees. When she is gone Titus' servants bind Chiron and Demetrius, and Titus cuts their throats, while Lavinia holds a basin in her stumps to catch their blood. He plans to cook them into a pie for their mother. This is the same revenge Procne took for the rape of her sister Philomel. In Greek mythology, Procne or Prokne was a daughter of Pandion and Zeuxippe. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Itys, Procne and Tereus (Discuss) In Greek mythology, Philomela was a daughter of Pandion I, King of Athens and Zeuxippe and a sister of Procne. ...

The next day, during the feast at his house, Titus asks Saturninus whether a father should kill his daughter if she has been raped.^[7] When the Emperor agrees, Titus kills Lavinia and tells Saturninus what Tamora's sons had done. He reveals that they were in the pie Tamora has just been enjoying, and then kills Tamora. Saturninus kills Titus just as Lucius arrives, and Lucius kills Saturninus to avenge his father's death.

Lucius tells his family's story to the people and is proclaimed Emperor. He orders that Saturninus be given a proper burial, that Tamora's body be thrown to the wild beasts, and that Aaron be buried chest-deep and left to die of thirst and starvation. Aaron, however, is unrepentant to the end, proclaiming: This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Language

The language of Titus Andronicus adds greatly to the grisly action of the play. Jack Reese notes that, as a result of its gruesome nature, the play is often disregarded "as an immature exercise in sensationalism" (78). He says that this is the fault of the readers who are unaware of the literary elements and techniques present throughout the work. Reese suggests that the horrific fates of the characters are not even so horrific because the characters lack any human quality that would lead the readers to identify with them. In the example of Lavinia, he refers to her as "an emblematic figure representing Injured Innocence" (79). There are greater implications to her brutal experience than what is simply written on the page. Reese mentions that the audience is further disconnected from the violence onstage through its various descriptions. The language used in these descriptions serves to "further emphasize the artificiality of the play; in a sense, they suggest to the audience that it is hearing a poem read rather than seeing the events of that poem put into dramatic form" (83). Peter Sacks comments on the imagery conveyed through the play’s language as marked by "an artificial and heavily emblematic style, and above all, a revoltingly grotesque series of horrors which seem to have little function but to ironize man's inadequate expressions of pain and loss" (587). Shakespeare's mastery of language stylizes the brutality seen in Titus Andronicus. Gillian Kendall follows a similar line of thought, stating that rhetorical devices, such as metaphor, augment the violent imagery, also elevating it. She discusses how the figurative use of certain words complements their literal counterparts. This, however, "disrupts the way the audience perceives imagery" (300). An example of this is seen in the body politic/dead body imagery in the beginning; the two images soon become interchangeable, as do others through the course of the play.

Critic Mary Fawcett looks not only at the language of the play, but also at language as a theme. She comments on the communication methods of Lavinia, post-rape, looking first at the term "scrowl" used by Demetrius in Act 2 Scene 4. Fawcett suggests that this word is a fusion of "scowl" and "scroll"; Demetrius “locates an area of language that is not spoken and not written” (261). She then goes on to address an incident where Titus offers his hand to Lavinia so that she may attempt to use it as a substitute tongue. This scene raises issues of patriarchy since Titus is facilitating his daughter’s speech; the “patriarchal nature of language” is illustrated. The scene also recalls Lavinia’s earlier request for paternal blessing when she asks her father to bless her with his hand in Act 1 Scene 1. Fawcett says that “the frightful literalization of this request reminds us of the etymology of blessing: a bleeding or wounding” (262). When he finally kills Lavinia, Titus is adhering to ideas set forth by his predecessor Livy; to Titus, “words point to a pre-existing text which alone originates and sanctions action” (269). The significance of language to the characters and to the play as a whole is unmistakable.

Dramatic structure

Written between 1589 and 1592, Titus Andronicus may be Shakespeare's earliest tragedy and is written in the form of a revenge tragedy. The play has characteristics similar to the work of Seneca, specifically his play Thyestes, which included horrific scenes of severed hands, cannibalism, and rape. Although violence was not uncommon in Elizabethan plays, Titus Andronicus stands out due to the volume and extremity of the violent acts committed. Unlike his other works, the play contains an uncanny number of crude and savage moments, which has sparked debate among critics as to whether or not the play was actually composed by Shakespeare. However this was not Shakespeare's only revenge tragedy, as his work Hamlet is considered one of the best examples of Elizabethan revenge tragedies and his works Julius Caesar and Macbeth have elements of the revenge tragedy. However, neither of these works contains the volume or the vivid descriptions of violence that one finds in Titus Andronicus. Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ... Year 1592 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops, King of Mycenae, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. ... Facsimile of the first page of Julius Caesar from the First Folio, published in 1623 Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed written in 1599. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ...

Critic S. Clark Hulse even went as far as to calculate the number of atrocities occurring in the play and concluded that, “It (the play) has 14 killings, 9 of them on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or 2 or 3 depending on how you count), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity, and 1 of cannibalism—-an average of 5.2 atrocities per act, or one for every 97 lines.” The vivid descriptions that Shakespeare uses to describe these violent acts certainly stands out to critics. T. S. Eliot claimed that the play was the "worst play ever written" (Bate 27). Shakespearean critic Harold Bloom, in his work Shakespeare: Invention of the Human, says that Shakespeare must have intended the work as a parody of the violent plays of colleague Christopher Marlowe, who was writing at the same time as Shakespeare. For other persons named Thomas Eliot, see Thomas Eliot (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English dramatist. ...

What stands out about the dramatic structure of the play is that unlike Shakespeare's other works, such as Romeo and Juliet which shifts between comedy and tragedy, Titus Andronicus continuously remains a revenge tragedy throughout. The play cannot be considered as history play, as it combines various names and events from different points in Roman history, such as the Lucrece story, which Shakespeare likely would have been familiar with from Ovid's work, Fasti or Livy's work The History of Rome. It has been noted by critics that the play contains very few subplots in contrast to other works by Shakespeare such as Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream. For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ovid (disambiguation). ... Ovids Fasti is a long, unfinished Latin poem by the Roman poet Ovid. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... For other uses, see A Midsummer Nights Dream (disambiguation). ...

Themes

This Roman tragedy is based on the mythological story of Procne and Philomela found in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Alan Hughes, a Shakespearean critic, believes that Procne's revenge is a conspicuous theme in this Shakespearean play. Procne avenges the dismemberment of her sister Philomela, whose tongue is cut out after she is raped by Procne's husband Tereus, by killing her son and feeding him to her husband (Ovid 230). Just as Procne is driven by revenge, the characters in Titus Andronicus are driven by revenge fueling the rape and carnage that occurs throughout the play. Some of Titus's sons are killed during the war with the Goths, and as a result Titus sacrifices Alarbus, the oldest of Tamora's sons, perpetuating the conflict between the Andronicus family and Tamora. With the intention of revenge, Tamora orders her sons Chiron and Demetrius to rape Lavinia, the daughter of Titus. Not only is Lavinia raped, but she is brutally dismembered as her tongue and hands are cut off. Titus eventually takes revenge on Tamora by killing and then cooking Chiron and Demetrius into a pie and serving it to the Queen (Shakespeare 1070-1096). Disambiguation: This article is about the poem Metamorphoses written by the poet Ovid. ...

Even though the hateful relationship between Tamora and Titus provides the main revenge plot in this tragedy, Bellyse Baildon states that this play is also a conglomeration of two themes which were popular in England before Shakespeare's time. The first theme is known as "the Wicked Moor" theme in which the Moor, Aaron, commits murder and rape out of revenge and pure malice (Baildon 17). For example, Aaron murders the nurse who brings him his illegitimate son out of pure malice as he doesn't want news of the illegitimate relationship between him and Tamora to leak. The second theme may be known as "the White Lady and Moor" theme which focuses on the lustful relationship between the white queen and a black slave (Baildon 17). Aaron works as Tamora's slave, yet they conceive a child together, but he then goes against her wishes as she wants their illegitimate son to be killed while he wants to raise the child (Shakespeare 1087). Along with the previous two critics, Deborah Willis also adds that this play is different from other revenge plays because women, and not just men, are also fueled by revenge. Revenge acts as a leveling agent as men, sons, fathers, women, and slaves all follow the path of revenge to defend honor and their families. To save the honor of the Goths, Tamora wages a personal war with the Andronicus family. While Lavinia represents the view of women as objects, Tamora uses excess cruelty and violence, therefore disturbing the patriarchal system (Willis 22). Also, Titus assumes the feminine role of Procne as he avenges the honor of his daughter. Not only does revenge lead to the eventual destruction and death of most of the main characters, but it also acts as an equalizer between men and women.

Reputation

As Shakespeare's most gruesome play, Titus Andronicus has also been its most derided. Critics from Lewis Theobald and Edmond Malone to J. M. Robertson doubted Shakespeare's authorship because of its lurid violence and generally uninspired verse. However, it was an extremely popular play in its day, on a par with such plays as Marlowe's Tamburlaine and Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy. Lewis Theobald (1688 - 1744), British textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire. ... Edmond Malone (October 4, 1741 - April 25, 1812), was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. ... This article is about the English dramatist. ... An anonymous portrait, often believed to show Christopher Marlowe. ... Thomas Kyd (1558 - 1594) was an English dramatist, the author of The Spanish Tragedy, and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. ... Title page of the Quarto edition (1615) The Spanish Tragedie: or, Hieronimo is Mad Againe is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1587-1590 and first performed in London around 1590. ...

Since the late twentieth century the play has been revived frequently on stage and has been revealed to some as a powerful and moving exploration of violence that presages King Lear in its bleakness. Modern audiences may, however, still find the play's graphic cruelty absurd, unused as they are to attending public executions and dismemberment of the kind that were familiar to Shakespeare's audience. However, literary critic and Shakespeare scholar Harold Bloom has claimed that the play cannot be taken seriously and that the best imaginable production would be one directed by Mel Brooks. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is a play by William Shakespeare, considered one of his greatest tragedies, based on the legend of King Lear of Britain. ... Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. ... Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, comedian, actor and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ...

The character of Titus has been played by important actors such as Brian Cox, Anthony Sher, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier. This article is about the actor. ... Sir Anthony Sher (born June 14, 1949) is an actor, and novelist. ... For the composer, see Antony Hopkins. ... Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, (IPA: ; 22 May 1907 â€“ 11 July 1989) was an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and four-time Emmy winning English actor, director, and producer. ...

Adaptations and cultural references

Literary works

Friedrich DÃ¼rrenmatt (January 5, 1921 â€“ December 14, 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. ... Botho Strauss is a German playwright. ... At the Drop of a Hat was a musical review, described by its authors as An After-dinner Farrago. The show consisted only of the two artists, Michael Flanders & Donald Swann, sang & played the piano. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Flanders The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922â€“1975) and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann (1923â€“1994) who collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. ... Michael Henry Flanders (March 1, 1922 â€“ April 14, 1975) was a British actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. ... The Drunkenness of Noah by Giovanni Bellini Drunkenness is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of alcohol to a degree that mental and physical faculties are noticeably impaired. ... Itchy and Scratchy The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a fictional television cartoon show within the television cartoon show The Simpsons (see show-within-a-show). ... Look up dis,dis- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the theological or philosophical afterlife. ...

Music

Film

Titus (1999) is a 1999 film adaptation of Shakespeares revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus, about the downfall of a Roman general. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director of Broadway theatre and film. ... For the composer, see Antony Hopkins. ... Jessica Phyllis Lange (born April 20, 1949) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Shakespeare in Love is an award-winning 1998 romantic comedy film. ... John Webster (c. ... The Exorcist III is a 1990 horror movie directed by William Peter Blatty and based on Blattys novel Legion. It stars George C. Scott and Brad Dourif. ... Bradford Claude Dourif (March 18, 1950, Huntington, West Virginia) is an American Academy Award nominated actor. ...

Television

This article is about the year. ... The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985. ... Trevor Peacock is a British character actor who has breathed life into such famous roles as Jim Trott in The Vicar of Dibley, Rouault in Madame Bovary (opposite Keith Barron) and Old Bailey in Neverwhere. ... Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE (born June 16, 1934 in London, England) is a British writer and an award-winning film and theatre actress. ... Hugh Antony Kobna Quarshie (born December 22, 1954) is a British actor. ... DVD cover of Theatre of Blood Theatre of Blood was a 1973 horror film starring Vincent Price as vengeful actor Edward Lionheart and Diana Rigg as his daughter Edwina Lionheart. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... Robert Morley CBE (May 26, 1908 â€“ June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment. ... Scott Tenorman Must Die is episode 66 of the Comedy Central animated series South Park. ... This article is about the TV series. ...

Theatre

The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a company of actors that performs unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly highly-improvisational comedies presenting ludicrously condensed versions of huge topics. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an Academy Award- and Palme dOr-winning American film director, screenwriter and actor. ... For other uses, see Sweeney Todd (disambiguation). ...

Works cited

Bate, Jonathan. Titus Andronicus. Cengage Learning Publishing. March, 1995. pp. 25-29.

Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare The Invention of the Human. New York Publishing Company. New York. 1998

Bullough, Geoffrey. Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. New York, Columbia University Press, 1966.

Fawcett, Mary Laughlin. “Arms/Words/Tears: Language and the Body in Titus Andronicus.” ELH 50.2 (1983): 261-277.

Cutts, John P. The Shattered Glass: A Dramatic Pattern in Shakespeare's Early Plays. Detroit, Wayne State University Press, 1968.

Dowden, Edward. Shakespeare: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art. New York, Barnes & Noble ING, 1967.

Gray, Henry David. "Titus Andronicus Once More." Modern Language Notes, Vol. 32, No. 4 (April 1919) pp. 214-220.

Hughes, Derek (2007). Culture and Sacrifice: Ritual Death in Literature and Opera. Cambridge University Press, pp. 68-74. ISBN 978-0-521-86733-7.

Kendall, Gillian Murray. “‘Lend me thy hand’: Metaphor and Mayhem in Titus Andronicus.” Shakespeare Quarterly 40.3 (1989): 299-316.

Reese, Jack E. “The Formalization of Horror in Titus Andronicus.” Shakespeare Quarterly 21.1 (1970): 77-84.

Sacks, Peter. “Where Words Prevail Not: Grief, Revenge, and Language in Kyd and Shakespeare.” ELH 49.3 (1982): 576-601.

Shakespeare, William. The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus. Ed. Baildon, Bellyse. London: Methuen and Co, 1904.

Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. Ed. Alan Hughes. London: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare: Second Edition. Ed. Dean Johnson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997.

Willis, Deborah. "The gnawing vulture: Revenge, Trauma Theory, and Titus Andronicus." Shakespeare Quarterly 53.1 (2002): 21-52.

References

Romanino, The murder of Verginia Verginia was the subject of an almost certainly apocryphal story of Ancient Rome, related in Livys Ab Urbe Condita[1], designed to show the evil character of the decemvir Appius Claudius. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ...

External links

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works. ... Image File history File links Shakespeare2. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... William Shakespeare (1564 â€“ 1616)[1] was an English poet and playwright. ... William Shakespeare (National Portrait Gallery), in the famous Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. ... Detail from statue of Shakespeare in Leicester Square, London. ... William Shakespeares influence extends from theatre to literature to the English language itself. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... William Shakespeare (National Portrait Gallery), in the famous Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. ... The frontispiece of the First Folio (1623), the first collected edition of Shakespeares plays. ... Shakespeare wrote tragedies from the beginning of his career. ... Anthony and Cleopatra, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. ... Venturia at the Feet of Coriolanus by Gaspare Landi Photo courtesy of The VRoma Project. ... Dame Ellen Terry as Imogen This article is about Shakespeares play. ... For other uses, see Hamlet (disambiguation). ... Facsimile of the first page of Julius Caesar from the First Folio, published in 1623 Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed written in 1599. ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is a play by William Shakespeare, considered one of his greatest tragedies, based on the legend of King Lear of Britain. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ... For other uses, see Othello (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Timon (disambiguation). ... For the Chaucer poem, see Troilus and Criseyde. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For the Chiodos album, see Alls Well That Ends Well (album). ... Walter Deverell,The Mock Marriage of Orlando and Rosalind, 1853 William Shakespeares As You Like It is a pastoral comedy written in 1599 or early 1600. ... Poster for a performance The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeares early plays, written between 1592 and 1594. ... For the film, see Loves Labours Lost (2000 film). ... Claudio and Isabella (1850) by William Holman Hunt Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, written in 1603. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1596 and 1598. ... Title page of the 1602 quarto The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare featuring the fat knight Sir John Falstaff and is Shakespeares only play to deal exclusively with contemporary English life. ... For other uses, see A Midsummer Nights Dream (disambiguation). ... Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... Title page of the 1611 quarto edition of the play Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play written (at least in part) by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected plays despite some questions over its authorship. ... Taming of the Shrew by Augustus Egg The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... For other uses, see Tempest. ... Twelfth Night has at least three meanings: Twelfth Night (holiday), celebrated by some Christians Twelfth Night, or What You Will, a comedic play by William Shakespeare Twelfth Night (band), a progressive rock band This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare from early in his career. ... The Two Noble Kinsmen is a play written in 1613 by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare in collaboration. ... Florizel and Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie. ... Traditionally, the plays of William Shakespeare have been grouped into three categories: tragedies, comedies, and histories. ... The Life and Death of King John is one of the Shakespearean histories, plays written by William Shakespeare and based on the history of England. ... Title page of Richard II, from the fifth quarto, published in 1615. ... Title page of the first quarto (1598) Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare. ... Henry IV part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, first published as part of Shakespeares First Folio. ... Title page of the first quarto (1600) Henry V, also known as The Cronicle History of Henry the fift, is a play by William Shakespeare based on the life of King Henry V of England. ... The First Part of King Henry the Sixth is one of Shakespeares history plays. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Henry VI Part III is the third of William Shakespeares plays set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England, and prepares the ground for one of his best-known and most controversial plays: the tragedy of King Richard III (Richard III of England). ... Frontispage of the First Quarto Richard The Third. ... Dame Ellen Terry as Katherine of Aragon The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth was one of the last plays written by the English playwright William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. ... Title page from 1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets Dedication page from The Sonnets Shakespeares sonnets, or simply The Sonnets, is a collection of poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with such themes as love, beauty, politics, and mortality. ... Title page of the first quarto (1593) Venus and Adonis is one of Shakespeares three longer poems. ... The Earl of Southampton, painted in 1594, aged 21, the year that Shakespeare dedicated The Rape of Lucrece to him The narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece is the graver work promised by English dramatist-poet William Shakespeare in his dedication to his patron, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton... The Passionate Pilgrim is a collection of poems, first published in 1599, attributed on the title-page to William Shakespeare. ... The Phoenix and the Turtle is a poem by William Shakespeare. ... A Lovers Complaint is a narrative poem usually attributed to William Shakespeare, although the poems authorship is a matter of critical debate. ... The Shakespeare Apocrypha is the name given to a group of plays that have sometimes been attributed to William Shakespeare, but whose attribution is questionable for various reasons. ... The Reign of King Edward III is a play attributed to William Shakespeare. ... Playtext from the 2005 Royal Shakespeare Company production. ... Publicity poster for the 2002 Los Angeles production of The Second Maidens Tragedy as The History of Cardenio is a lost play, known to have been performed by the Kings Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. ... Loves Labours Won, alternatively written Loves labours wonne, is the name of a play written by William Shakespeare before 1598. ... The Birth of Merlin, or, The Child Hath Found his Father is a Jacobean play, written in 1622. ... Locrine is an Elizabethan play depicting the legendary Trojan founders of the nation of England and of Troynovant (London). ... The London Prodigal is a city comedy set in London in which a prodigal son learns the error of his ways. ... Title page of the 1607 quarto The Puritan is a Jacobean comedy, published in 1607, generally considered to be written by Thomas Middleton. ... The Second Maidens Tragedy is a Jacobean play that survives only in manuscript. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sir John Oldcastle is an Elizabethan play about John Oldcastle, a controversial 14th-15th century rebel and Lollard who was seen by some of Shakespeares contemporaries as a proto-Protestant martyr. ... Thomas Lord Cromwell is an Elizabethan play, published in 1602. ... A Yorkshire Tragedy is an early Jacobean era stage play, a domestic tragedy printed in 1608. ... Fair Em, the Millers Daughter of Manchester, is an Elizabethan comedy written ca. ... Mucedorus is a play at one time claimed to be one of Shakespeares. ... The Merry Devil of Edmonton is an Elizabethan comedy about a magician, Peter Fabel, nicknamed the Merry Devil. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Edmund Ironside is an anonymous Elizabethan play that depicts the life of Edmund II of England; however, at least two critics have suggested it is an early work by Shakespeare. ... Vortigern and Rowena, or Vortigern, an Historical Play is a play that was touted as a newly discovered work by William Shakespeare when it first appeared in 1796. ... Sir John Gilberts 1849 painting: The Plays of William Shakespeare, containing scenes and characters from several of William Shakespeares plays. ... Sir John Gilberts 1849 painting: The Plays of William Shakespeare, containing scenes and characters from several of William Shakespeares plays. ... The precise chronology of Shakespeares plays as they were first written and performed is impossible to determine, as there is no authoritative record and many of the plays were performed many years before they were published. ... The precise chronology of Shakespeares plays as they were first written is impossible to determine, as there is no authoritative record and many of the plays were performed many years before they were published. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... The BBC Television Shakespeare was a set of television adaptations of the plays of Shakespeare, produced by the BBC between 1978 and 1985. ... The following is a partially complete list of titles of works based on Shakespearean phrases. ... In Shakespeare studies, the term problem plays normally refers to three comedies that William Shakespeare wrote between the late 1590s and the first years of the seventeenth century: Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and The Merchant of Venice, although some critics would extend the term to... This list contains the biographies of historical figures who appear in the plays of William Shakespeare. ... In playwriting, a ghost character is a character that is mentioned as appearing on stage but neither says nor does anything but enter, and possibly exit. ...

Contents

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