1. Consult your Handbook to Literature for precise definitions of “tragedy,” “revenge tragedy,” “Greek tragedy,” “Senecan tragedy,” and “Roman tragedy,” and analyze the generic markers and attributes of Titus Andronicus. In other words, assign the play to a category and use the text of the play in conjunction with your textbook definitions of the genre to defend your classification.
2. Watch Julie Taymor’s 1999 production of Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins. Next, watch a Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, or Edgar Wright film—Reservoir Dogs, Sin City, Grindhouse, or Hot Fuzz are just a few examples of movies that will work well for this exercise. Drawing from Titus, the movie of your choice, and the text of the play, formulate an argument that explains the purpose of the excessive and incredibly graphic violence displayed in these three forms of media. By exploring modern directorial decisions, develop an argument that explains what Shakespeare is up to and why it is that he thinks he needs to go to such extremes.
3. Talking about productions should lead us to talk about performances and, perhaps more importantly, about performers. Taymor chose Hopkins for her Titus, and, given his terrific stage presence, it is indeed difficult to picture a lesser actor in this role. Look at Shakespeare’s portrayal of Titus, the man. In class, we talked about the various personae Titus assumes during the course of the play. Some critics argue that Shakespeare went too far and that in drawing Titus he sketched a character so magnanimous that he cannot be contained within a single person. He is too “great,” i.e., honorable, noble, loyal, traditional etc. for his own good. There is no place for a hero like him in this modern Rome. Rather, they argue, the play implodes around Titus, leaving him alone standing, the allegorical representation of revenge itself—far removed from human form and faults. What do you think?
4.
Setting is another important and imposing presence within Titus Andronicus. Rome seems not only to underlie all action, but also to hover above it, triggering and demanding actions, reactions, and counteractions. In this approach, Rome, the city, is viewed as more than just a setting; it is a highly charged and deeply symbolic landscape that seems to mock and mimic the bodily and mental states of its main characters. We discussed in the question above how Titus is a character too noble, too honorable, too traditional to be contained in one person. He is like Rome, a place of old that used stand for nobility, honor, and tradition. But that is not the Rome that we encounter in Titus Andronicus, is it? Values and virtues don’t account for much in a city run by the likes of Saturninus and Tamora, do they? How and in what ways does Shakespeare use Rome as a historically charged background? Or, in other words, how does Rome function as a mirror image of the play’s characters as an example against which they can (and should) measure their own values and virtues?
5.
Examine the fusing of honor, justice, and revenge in the play. In act 4, Titus finds out the truth behind Lavinia’s mutilation, is robbed of two more sons by deception, despite the fact that he has cut off his own hand in exchange for their lives, and gradually descends into insanity. Honor, he then decides, has become meaningless under Saturninus’ rule, justice has fled from Rome, and revenge is the only means to set things right again. In a brilliant display of desperate loyalty and waning sanity, Titus mobilizes and unites the entire Andronicus clan to parade through the streets of Rome, send arrows of hope, and pleads for help to the skies and to wherever Justice might be hiding:
O, heavens, can you hear a good man groan,
And not relent, or not compassion him?
Marcus, attend him in his ecstasy,
That hath more scars of sorrow in his heart
Than foemen’s marks upon his batter'd shield;
But yet so just that he will not revenge.
Revenge, ye heavens, for old Andronicus! (4.1.123–29)
...
Pluto sends you word,
If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall. (4.3.40–1)
Discuss Shakespeare’s intent in equating justice and revenge in Titus Andronicus. Can justice be gained by means of exacting violent revenge upon the perpetrator of injustice? Be sure to draw on the text of the play to support your answer.
6. Discuss the role of women in Titus Andronicus. Tamora and Lavinia are fascinating characters— the former seems to hover just above the action, perpetrating destruction, death, and disorder, while the latter seems to lie just beneath the action of the play, not really partaking but certainly sustaining much of the tragedy and violence through the brutality done to her. Interestingly this description fits both female characters—to some extent. What do you think Shakespeare is suggesting through his portrayal of these two women? Are women active or passive participants? Do they suffer or do they cause suffering? Are they victims or warriors?
7.
Aaron is an intriguing individual. He is manipulative and malignant; like a tumor he grows just beneath the surface, poisoning what he touches and spreading disease wherever he goes. He commits adultery with Tamora, instigates the rape of Lavinia by Chiron and Demetrius, and tricks Titus into chopping off his own hand. But why does he do all this? What is his motivation? Is he just plain wicked or does he have just cause for his hateful conniving against the Andronici? How are we to perceive his role in this play, and why did Shakespeare choose to make Aaron a “Moor”? Would it be possible perhaps to read him as Titus’ foil—as the allegorical evil that opposes Titus’ magnanimity? Be sure to draw examples from the text of the play in support of your response to this prompt.
8.
The question of Aaron’s type-casting deserves another look. In the play, he is described as a “Moor” or a “blackamoor,” a description which for Shakespeare and his contemporaries most certainly denoted a black African; more importantly, in Renaissance England, this would have cast him as an outsider, not just in appearance, but also in culture, creed, and moral code. What kind of character traits are attributed to Aaron (apparently) purely on account of his race? Which of these traits are extended to Tamora, Queen of the Goths? And which of these traits are, ironically, also evident among the Romans? What do you think is the function of racial and/or cultural differences in this play? Notice the frequent references to “barbarism” and “civilizing” in Titus Andronicus as you formulate your response. How do character traits function to subvert race and culture in the play?
9.
The concepts of family and family ties play an important part in Titus Andronicus. Sometimes these bonds are a source of strength; at other times, they function as triggers for violence. What do you think is the role of young Lucius, Titus’ grandson, in the play? And how about Aaron and Tamora’s baby? How can childhood exist within a world confined and, perhaps, defined by so much blood and such brutality?
10.
Consider the use of language in Titus Andronicus. Let me remind you once more of the academic charge that the play’s poetry is too simplistic for a man of Shakespeare’s artistic genius. Let me remind you, too, of my suggestion in class that simple is never simple in Shakespearean drama, but only surreptitious. If this is true, then the apparent simplicity of the poetry must serve a function, must point at something less apparent. Think about how the language of Titus Andronicus might fit into the thematic scheme of the play. In your response to these claims, pay special attention to Shakespeare’s frequent use of end-stopped lines in Titus Andronicus, his repeated use of words relating to language production, such as “hand” and “tongue,” and the constant punning throughout the play.
11.
Allusions to classical Greek and Roman mythology permeate the play. What do you think is the purpose of evoking a long-forgotten past and a culture alien to the reformed world of Renaissance England in Titus Andronicus?
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