Titus Andronicus Research

Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's most violent plays, set in the roman era the play is based on the return of Titus a general in the Roman army, who continues on a path of revenge against Tamora, Queen of the goths.

Brief Synopsis

The brothers Saturninus and Bassianus are in contention for the Roman emperorship.
Titus Andronicus, Rome's most honoured general, returns from wars against the Goths with their queen, Tamora, her sons and her lover, Aaron the Moor, as captives. Her eldest son is sacrificed by Titus; she vows revenge.

Titus is nominated emperor by his brother Marcus, one of Rome's tribunes. This Titus declines, instead nominating Saturninus.
To seal the bond of friendship, the new emperor, Saturnius, offers to marry Titus's daughter Lavinia. She, however, is already pledged to Bassianus.
Saturninus, by now infatuated with Tamora, makes her empress instead.

Manipulated by Aaron, Tamora's sons, Chiron and Demetrius, avenge their mother by raping and mutilating Lavinia, and killing Bassianus. Aaron falsely implicates two of Titus's sons in this murder.
In his turn Titus vows revenge and sends his surviving son Lucius to the Goths to raise an army. Titus achieves his revenge by killing Tamora's sons and serving them up to her at a banquet, and then killing her.
He himself is killed by Saturninus and his death avenged by Lucius, who is made emperor.


The main characteristics of the play include:

•  Violence - 10 named characters die within the play, and 21 of Titus' sons die before it even begins.
• The play is very gruesome - the way in which the characters within the play were disturbingly killed and then the acts carried out with their bodies are very gruesome. 
• The play is fictional - The play takes place in a recreation of what was believe to be 16th century Rome. 
• A tale of revenge - The majority of murders and violent acts are all in response to a previous murder, the story is focused on a cycle of revenge between Titus and Tamora. 
• Vast and confusing - There are a large amount of characters and the relations between them which link the murders and revenge can be confusing due to the vast scale of everything happening. 

This segment from the film is the part of the play we will be focusing on. What this scene briefly shows is upon Titus' return he gains revenge upon the death of his 21 sons and he does this by sacrificing the oldest son of Tamora who he has prisoner. As this is about to happen Tamora pleads to Titus and begs him to not harm his son but he does not listen.

Tamora:
Stay, Roman brethren! Gracious conqueror,
Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed,
A mother's tears in passion for her son:
And if thy sons were ever dear to thee,
O, think my son to be as dear to me! 125
Sufficeth not that we are brought to Rome,
To beautify thy triumphs and return,
Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke,
But must my sons be slaughter'd in the streets,
For valiant doings in their country's cause? 130
O, if to fight for king and commonweal
Were piety in thine, it is in these.
Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood:
Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods?
Draw near them then in being merciful: 135
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge:
Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son.