The Theme Of Revenge In Titus Andronicus By William Shakespeare

Titus is a film adaption of William Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus. Sponsored by Overseas Filmgroup and Clear Sky Productions, director Julie Taymor and produces Conchita Airoldi and Jody Allen were able to bring Shakespeare’s vision to life. The main characters Titus and Tamora were played by Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Throughout the film the audience experiences how destructive revenge can be and the effects it has. A few important quotes that applies to this film would be, “If one wishes for revenge, before you know it, a hurt as bad as the one wished for will come upon the wisher” by CLAMP and “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves” by Confucius. The movie Titus shows that revenge is an

There are have been many arguments throughout the history of Shakespearean academia regarding the validity of Shakespeare’s authorship to Titus Andronicus, and the critics have not been shy to express their discontent of its seemingly endless violent montage. As Michael Fentiman and Harold Fuller point out of what Dr. Samuel Johnson spoke to in 1765,

The creator of Titus Andronicus is William Shakespeare. The subject I pick that identifies with current circumstances is revenge. Revenge is the activity of incurring hurt or mischief on somebody for a harm or wrong endured at their hands. The literary text I will use to examine the content is personification. The reason personification is significant in the play is on account of Tamora suspected that Titus was insane and came to visit him dressed as revenge.

All the persons Shakespeare depicts in Titus are two dimensional, either good or bad. The dividing line falls between those who support Titus, the tragic warrior hero, and those on the side of Tamora, the evil Queen-empress. The former are noble and selfless, demonstrating roman pietas, while the latter are ignoble and selfish. In Jack E. Reese's essay, The Formalization of Horror in Titus Andronicus, he makes the point that Tamora and her sons' allegorical dressing-up as "Revenge, Murder, and Rapine can be viewed as a symbol of the characterization of the entire work" (Horror 79). In this scene, they are as they are, the symbol is exactly the same as the person. The only two characters who might be said to escape the dichotomy are Titus and Aaron the Moor. In Rome, Titus "sacrifices" both his son and his daughter, says Miola, "on the alter of his own personal honor" (Family 67). It is fair to say that personal honor is his concern in killing his offspring, for Mutius represents shameful filial disobedience (or mutiny) and Lavinia represents his inability to protect her and is a reminder of a shameful act done not only to her, but to her whole Andronici family too. It

Revenge has always been an exciting theme to incorporate into any literary work. This revenge adds conflict, action, and contrast to any story. There have been hundreds of thousands of stories and tales which cause readers to experience similar feeling to that of the main characters. With revenge, the reader may side with the main character whether or not the main character is morally right or wrong. By human nature, people around the globe have always been trying their hardest to come out on top in arguments or fights (Price 2009). As humans, they want to win. This is how a story about revenge is so well loved and experienced by many as it relates well with human nature and how a person would react to these situations. It is a natural feeling every single person feels at some point in their lives. Two well-known tales call this vengeful mode of literary artwork their own as they both portray characters who strive for revenge. These stories are Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Sophocles’ Antigone. Shakespeare, a very famous playwright created his play with the intention of showing the audience how revenge returns to haunt the vengeful. He also showed how seeking revenge is not the ideal way of dealing with a situation. Sophocles created his play to show how justice can be better and more worthy than just seeking revenge. But he also how to be careful for seeking justice can turn into seeking revenge and a full circle back to the demise of the vengeful as well. There

Titus Andronicus is known as Shakespeare's’ goriest and worst play. Yet, underneath the blood, inner-country war, rape, and cannibalism lies a deeper representation. This representation being one of gender roles as well as the societal, stereotypical importance given to either role. In Representing Lavinia, Carolyn Sales discusses a legal case in the early 1600s that had to do with the ravishment of a young girl. Back then, it was said that a man could only be prosecuted for ravishment if his crime was “motivated by his intention to secure her property as his own” (203). This shows that what was generally used to determine whether or not a rape could be condemned was whether or not the victim, a woman, was actually “worth” something in terms

From the beginning of Titus Andronicus we are thrust into Shakespeare's idiosyncratic form of reality, a place where things are slightly out of place, maybe a little out of touch. When any writer creates such a reality, some room to be more dramatic or creative is formed, this allows things out of the ordinary suddenly become ordinary. This simulacrum of reality is essential to Shakespeare's work; however, in Titus Andronicus it functions in a slightly altered way, allowing a dark humor to be found in some of the play's most tragic moments—so much so, that to call the play simply a tragedy becomes unjust. Structurally, the work is tragic, one that pushes moral boundaries and leaves us uncomfortable, but on another level the work delves into

Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s first tragedy, is one of violent mutilation, extensive revenge, and copious deception. Featuring bloody on stage deaths with brutal causes, it is by far Shakespeare’s most gruesome work. But in spite of all the tragedies that occur, there is a character who feels no remorse for his actions. Aaron, the play’s clear antagonist, is often the mastermind of these plots. While he is seen as the villain, Aaron is a product of his environment.

When observing gender in our society, women and men are stereotyped with specific roles. Men have always been seen as the family’s main source of income whereas the women take care of their home and children. However, Shakespeare challenges these gender roles in his play with the three female characters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. While all three are independent, powerful women and even lead their armies into battle, the men seem to be foolish and weak such as King Lear and Albany. Furthermore, Mira cel Batran makes a point in her essay, “Feminist Reading of William Shakespeare’s King Lear”, that although women are regarded as dependent on men, Shakespeare explains that it can be the exact opposite. The men seem to depend on the women such as King Lear depending on Cordelia and Albany depending on Goneril. Shakespeare, in his play, King Lear, portrays women who are strong and intelligent and men who are weak or overpowered by female characters, challenging the societal belief that women are inherently less than or dependent on men.

Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.

Perhaps the theme that is most recurrent in William Shakespeare's plays is that of filial relationships, specifically the relationship between daughter and father. This particular dynamic has allowed Shakespeare to create complex female characters that come into conflict with their fathers over issues ranging from marriage to independence. At the same time, the dramatist exposes his audience to the struggles women face when attempting to assert themselves in a misogynistic world. Through the daughter-father dyads portrayed in The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare highlights the effects that gender constraints have on female characters while simultaneously drawing attention to the sharp contrast between both relationships.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare brings about one of the most controversial topic of the gender portrayal in a play. During Shakespearean times, women were considered as the weaker sex, physically and emotionally. On the other hand, men were seen as the dominant sex that is expected to be the head of their households and a strong figure. Unlike this stereotypical representation of men and women, Shakespeare introduces the reversal of gender roles in his play. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the relationship and characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth diverged from the stereotypical representation of both men and women. The author, William Shakespeare’s use of reverse gender roles which contradicted with the traditional gender roles, is what

Titus Andronicus introduces the reader to a multifaceted relationship of a father and a son. In the very first scene of the play, just after Titus says, “What, villain, boy / Barr’st me my way in Rome?” (1.1.295-96), he kills Mutius, his own son. Titus is not concerned about his daughter eloping with Bassianus, rather he believes that the ten-year long war has won him the ownership of Rome. His pride cannot let anyone, even his son, stand between him and his prized possession. Shakespeare uses violence to depict the masculine character of Titus. Titus’ ego shines more brightly in these lines than his love for his son.

With social and cultural stereotypes in this era, men were viewed as more powerful while women were portrayed as weak. William Shakespeare tries to interpret the roles between genders by having characters of the opposite sex. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses rhetorical devices to demonstrate Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s switch in traditional gender roles, which arise from the consequences for each character’s actions and speech.

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.