Titus Andronicus

By William Shakespeare

Widely accepted as Shakespeare's earliest tragedy, "Titus Andronicus" is the bloody story of a Roman general engaged in terrible revenge with the Queen of the Goths, Tamora. The play begins with Titus returning to Rome after ten years of fighting. He brings with him the defeated Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her sons. Titus sacrifices one of Tamora's sons to avenge the sons he lost in the war, which begins a cycle of revenge in which Tamora and her lover Aaron the Moor plot and scheme against the remaining children of Titus. This entails especially horrific results for his daughter Lavinia, whose fate is thought to be based on a mythological story in Ovid's "Metamorphoses" about Procne and Philomela. The conclusion is full of further violence and death, with few characters remaining to tell the tragic story of Titus and his children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781596254626

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. He produced an astonishing amount of work; 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems. He died on 23rd April 1616, aged 52, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.

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TITUS ANDRONICUS

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

A Digireads.com Book

Digireads.com Publishing

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3223-2

Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-59625-462-6

This edition copyright © 2011

Please visit www.digireads.com

CONTENTS

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ACT I.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the palace.

SCENE II. A Forest near Rome.

SCENE III. A lonely part of the forest.

SCENE IV. Another part of the Forest.

ACT III.

SCENE I. Rome. A street.

SCENE II. Rome. Titus's House.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. Rome. TITUS'S garden.

SCENE II. Rome. The Palace.

SCENE III. Rome. A public Place.

SCENE IV. Rome. Before the palace.

ACT V.

SCENE I. Plains near Rome.

SCENE II. Rome. Before Titus's House.

SCENE III. The court of Titus' house.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

SATURNINUS, Son to the late Emperor of Rome, afterwards Emperor

BASSIANUS, brother to Saturninus

TITUS ANDRONICUS, a noble Roman

MARCUS ANDRONICUS, Tribune of the People, and brother to Titus

LUCIUS, QUINTUS, MARTIUS, MUTIUS, sons to Titus Andronicus

YOUNG LUCIUS, a boy, son to Lucius

PUBLIUS, son to Marcus Andronicus

SEMPRONIUS, CAIUS, VALENTINE, kinsmen to Titus

AEMILIUS, a noble Roman

ALARBUS, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, sons to Tamora

AARON, a Moor, beloved by Tamora

A Captain

A Messenger

A Clown

TAMORA, Queen of the Goths

LAVINIA, daughter to Titus Andronicus

A Nurse and a black child.

Romans and Goths, Senators, Tribunes, Officers, Soldiers, and Attendants.

THE SCENE: ROME, AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

ACT I.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol.

[Flourish. Enter the Tribunes and Senators aloft; and then enter below SATURNINUS and his Followers at one door, and BASSIANUS and his Followers at the other, with drums and trumpets.]

SATURNINUS. Noble patricians, patrons of my right,

Defend the justice of my cause with arms;

And, countrymen, my loving followers,

Plead my successive title with your swords:

I am his first born son that was the last

That wore the imperial diadem of Rome:

Then let my father's honours live in me,

Nor wrong mine age with this indignity.

BASSIANUS. Romans, friends, followers, favourers of my right,

If ever Bassianus, Caesar's son,

Were gracious in the eyes of royal Rome,

Keep then this passage to the Capitol;

And suffer not dishonour to approach

The imperial seat, to virtue consecrate,

To justice, continence, and nobility:

But let desert in pure election shine;

And, Romans, fight for freedom in your choice.

[Enter MARCUS ANDRONICUS aloft, with the crown.]

MARCUS. Princes, that strive by factions and by friends

Ambitiously for rule and empery,

Know that the people of Rome, for whom we stand

A special party, have by common voice,

In election for the Roman empery

Chosen Andronicus, surnamed Pius

For many good and great deserts to Rome:

A nobler man, a braver warrior,

Lives not this day within the city walls.

He by the senate is accited home

From weary wars against the barbarous Goths;

That with his sons, a terror to our foes,

Hath yok'd a nation strong, train'd up in arms.

Ten years are spent since first he undertook

This cause of Rome, and chastised with arms

Our enemies' pride: five times he hath return'd

Bleeding to Rome, bearing his valiant sons

In coffins from the field;

And now at last, laden with honour's spoils,

Returns the good Andronicus to Rome,

Renowned Titus, flourishing in arms.

Let us entreat—by honour of his name

Whom worthily you would have now succeed,

And in the Capitol and senate's right,

Whom you pretend to honour and adore—

That you withdraw you and abate your strength;

Dismiss your followers, and, as suitors should,

Plead your deserts in peace and humbleness.

SATURNINUS. How fair the tribune speaks to calm my thoughts!

BASSIANUS. Marcus Andronicus, so I do affy

In thy uprightness and integrity,

And so I love and honour thee and thine,

Thy noble brother Titus and his sons,

And her to whom my thoughts are humbled all,

Gracious Lavinia, Rome's rich ornament,

That I will here dismiss my loving friends;

And to my fortunes and the people's favour

Commit my cause in balance to be weigh'd.

[Exeunt the soldiers of Bassianus.]

SATURNINUS. Friends, that have been thus forward in my right,

I thank you all and here dismiss you all;

And to the love and favour of my country

Commit myself, my person, and the cause.

[Exeunt the soldiers of Saturninus.]

Rome, be as just and gracious unto me

As I am confident and kind to thee.—

Open the gates, tribunes, and let me in.

BASSIANUS. Tribunes, and me, a poor competitor.

[Flourish. They go up into the Senate House.]

[Enter a Captain.]

CAPTAIN. Romans, make way. The good Andronicus,

Patron of virtue, Rome's best champion,

Successful in the battles that he fights,

With honour and with fortune is return'd

From where he circumscribed with his sword

And brought to yoke the enemies of Rome.

[Sound drums and trumpets, and then enter MARTIUS and MUTIUS, two of Titus' sons; and then two Men bearing a coffin covered with black; then LUCIUS and QUINTUS, two other sons; then TITUS ANDRONICUS; and then TAMORA, the Queen of Goths, with her three sons, ALARBUS, DEMETRIUS, CHIRON, with AARON the Moor and Others, as many as can be. Then set down the coffin, and Titus speaks.]

TITUS. Hail, Rome, victorious in thy mourning weeds!

Lo, as the bark that hath discharg'd her fraught

Returns with precious lading to the bay

From whence at first she weigh'd her anchorage,

Cometh Andronicus, bound with laurel boughs,

To re-salute his country with his tears—

Tears of true joy for his return to Rome.—

Thou great defender of this Capitol,

Stand gracious to the rites that we intend!—

Romans, of five and twenty valiant sons,

Half of the number that King Priam had,

Behold the poor remains, alive and dead!

These that survive let Rome reward with love;

These that I bring unto their latest home,

With burial amongst their ancestors;

Here Goths have given me leave to sheathe my sword.

Titus, unkind, and careless of thine own,

Why suffer'st thou thy sons, unburied yet,

To hover on the dreadful shore of Styx?—

Make way to lay them by their brethren.—

[They open the tomb.]

There greet in silence, as the dead are wont,

And sleep in peace, slain in your country's wars!

O sacred receptacle of my joys,

Sweet cell of virtue and nobility,

How many sons of mine hast thou in store,

That thou wilt never render to me more!

LUCIUS. Give us the proudest prisoner of the Goths,

That we may hew

Reviews for Titus Andronicus

[alcracka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I know it's not his best, and it's not as much fun as Tamburlaine, the Marlowe play Shakespeare was ripping off, but I have a soft spot for it.

[amerynth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My reaction to much of this book was, "Wow, this is Shakespeare?" "Titus Andronicus" is simply brutal... and definitely the most violent play of Shakespeare's that I've ever read. There is a hardly a scene that goes by that someone isn't murdered, raped or dismembered. The play, at its heart, is a tale of revenue in its most violent form.As such, this isn't one of my favorite plays... there isn't much subtle or playful here. But it also managed to keep my attention, as I wondered how Shakespeare was going to top the prior scene with something even more horrible. Overall, I found it interesting and much darker than a typical Shakespearean tragedy.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Incredibly bloody, even by modern standards.

[mlyons1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It may not say much for me as a person, but this is my absolute favorite Shakespearian play. I saw it performed at The Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta, and I own the Julie Taymor film version and I still fall in love with it every time. Which is disturbing if you've read it or have any idea what it's actually about. So...yeah.

[girl_detective · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A violent and bloody tragedy, that may well have been a dark comedy in its time.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It had been stopping me from reading Shakespeare for over a year now. I was at Titus Andronicus, and I had heard such horrible things about it. Last night I plunged in, and although it's no Hamlet, I found it mostly readable. In fact, it seemed very much like the Greek plays I've been reading, only with more words and less Chorus. I don't really have any inclination to watch this one performed, but honestly, I found all the "hand" jokes amusing.I haven't read much about this work, the tiny intro at the front of the book I'm reading said it was atrocious and many refused to believe that Shakespeare had written it. I wouldn't know, but I'm thinking if he did, it was as a challenge, or in the depths of a writer's block, or he was coerced to it. Still, the drama was perfectly understandable in a Greek tragedy kind of way. A mother who has been taken captive is forced to have her first-born killed in front of her, his limbs chopped off, entrails spilled, and then he is consumed by flames in a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Minutes later she is effectively told to cheer up and wipe that gloomy look off her face because the new emperor wants to marry her! Yeah, I'd be plotting some revenge too.

[bzedan_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had tried delving into the Divine Comedy, but it just wasn't doing it for me after the first handful of cantos in Inferno. "I need something more violent right now," thought I. So I decided to read Titus, which I somehow never read (though I heart the movie intensely). Dang! Why isn't Lavinia as held up as Ophelia? She doesn't even have her own little Wikipedia page. I always thought of Ophelia as kind of a bleeding heart, and here is Lavinia, fighting to get her family to comprehend her, overcoming her wounds to see her rapists punished and then suiciding by father (or whatever you call it, despite how Titus puts it, she's willing and unable to commit the act herself) once revenge is carried out.This is now in my top three Shakespeare plays (Richard III and Julius Caesar being the others). It's got some weird shit going on, if you don't mind the colloquial vagueness of that. It was nice reading ol' Shakey again, I haven't really delved into his stuff since that advanced class years ago sort of wore me out on it.

[wubsy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I recently sat down with Titus as part of my undergraduate degree and found it thoroughly enjoyable in a gruesome kind of a way. Shakespeare's understanding of how drama works is in full evidence, and although it all smacks a bit of Marlowe's work, the young Shakespeare still produced a play that is shocking and dark, but that also has moments of odd compassion. It reminded me of humanitie's unfortunate habit of destroying itself in the name of perpetual concepts like love, honor, and dignity. Violence is part of the human condition, and that is why I think the play still speaks to us today.

[katieloucks · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A little to gory for my taste. I don't remember where this was, but there was a part where there was about 4 murders in 20 lines.

[kaelirenee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A gruesome look at the Roman conquest of the Goths. Revenge, crueltly, loyalty-it's all considered in this early Shakespeare play. It is (as with all his work) best viewed, too-the Anthony Hopkins movie version, Titus, is amazing. Have the play at hand to read, because sometimes it helps.

[unreachableshelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This revenge play might not be one of Shakespeare's best crafted plays from a literary perspective, but it has its merits from a theatrical point of view- namely, two of his best villians. In particular, Tamora is for my money Shakespeare's best role for a woman after Lady MacBeth. Of course he can hardly be blamed for not writing more great roles "for women," as he didn't write *anything* for them- there were no actresses and the women would be played by young boys, not seasoned, mature performers. However, from the perspective of a modern woman whose appreciation of a play can be swayed by how much she would want to be in it, it is hard not to read this gore-fest and think how much fun it could be.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ever wish Shakespeare had written something incredibly dark and violent? Well lucky you, he did! In Titus Andonicus fans of the Bard can get their Quentin Tarantino fix in old English. This is one of Shakespeare’s first tragedies and by far one of the most violent. See if you can follow me as I give a quick and wildly confusing rundown of the plot...A Roman general, Titus, is in a perpetual battle of revenge with Tamora, Queen of the Goths. Things escalate throughout the play, building to a disturbing pinnacle of violence. Titus is appointed the new Roman Emperor but he turns the throne down, supporting Saturninus instead. He offers his daughter Lavinia to Saturnius, even though she’s already engaged to Bassianus, Saturnius’ brother. Titus sacrifices Tamora’s eldest son after taking her and her sons prisoner, which further instigates her wrath. In a surprise move Saturninus marries Tamora and Titus is furious. Tamora’s living sons, Demetrius and Chiron, kidnap and rape Titus’ daughter Lavinia. When they’re done they cut out her tongue and cut off her hands. You can see why this one isn’t performed a lot. They also kill her original betrothed, Bassianus, which infuriates his brother (the emperor) Saturnius. Titus’ sons Martius and Quintus are framed for the murder and executed by Saturnius. After that there are sliced hands and heads going back and forth in the mail. Let’s not forget Tamora’s lover Aaron, a moor who fathers her child while she is married to Saturnius. He’s a tricky one and causes quite a bit of mayhem. The ultimate disturbing detail that made the play famous comes when Titus to be the Master Chef of Revenge. He kills Tamora’s remaining two sons and then uses their blood and bones to make her a fancy dinner. He then feeds it to her at a feast before revealing his secret ingredients. Gag. Then the bloody meal concludes with just about every main character being killed.BOTTOM LINE: Cue Debbie Downer’s sad trombone noise, "wah waaah." I can’t say this is my favorite Shakespearean play, but I’m glad to know what all the fuss was about. Unlike his later tragedies, this one is missing the crucial element of emotional grounding. While we’re horrified by what happens to the characters we aren’t necessarily invested in them, which lessens the impact. Ultimately we are reminded that revenge, just like jealousy in Othello, destroys everyone in its path.  

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3 stars for the play, 4 stars for the edition. Jonathan Bate is a brilliant scholar, however I'd refrain from giving this edition 5 stars - in spite of his fascinating discussions of methods of staging - because I do think that Bate has a bit of a bias here, seeing the play's issues and textual cruces as largely deliberate, and I don't think this finding is born out by modern scholarship.

[pgchuis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was great fun, although it was quite hard keeping all the characters straight in my mind because so many of them had unfamiliar Roman/Latin names.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason to read: Shakespeare Category Challenge, ROOTThis was actually enjoyable to listen to. Some great lines that are very familiar and of course the story is as well. Caesar, Anthony, Brutus, the Ides of March. One should probably read this one in March..

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of two of Shakespeare’s better-known plays that I somehow missed in high school and college (the other is [King Lear], which I have yet to read). Despite the title, most of the action centers around Brutus, his decision to throw in with the conspirators, Caesar’s death, and the aftermath.Perhaps the most famous lines in this play come from Mark Antony, mourning Caesar’s death and allowed by the conspirators to eulogize, as long as Antony does not blame them for the act. He does so, brilliantly getting the plebeians on his side while he talks about his friend, all the while repeating variations of “But Brutus says, he {Caesar} was ambitious; / and Brutus is an honorable man.” A couple of other phrases I was delighted to discover were “it is Greek to me” and “give up the ghost,” neither of which I realized were so old. I read it in one sitting, as is my wont, with a fair amount of help from the notes. I have the “Wordsworth Classics” edition which, instead of having notes on the opposite page or footnotes, had them in the back, so I had to keep a finger there and keep glancing back and forth. The glossary was separate and alphabetically rather than by line number, which was irritating, but despite that I mostly followed the meaning on my own from the context.I would include the play among the history plays rather than calling it an all-out tragedy. Certainly there is a lot of death, but unlike [Hamlet] where audiences have sympathy for the main character yet everybody dies, no one comes out completely sympathetic in [Julius Caeser]. The conspirators are not great people, yet Antony and the others taking over government after Caesar’s death can also be ruthless and bicker among themselves. All in all, it’s rather unsettling and as modern as any current book with unlikable characters. The introduction to my edition discusses this and also has some pointed things to say about politics that could have been written today rather than 2004: “To this day, human beings are, all too often, sacrificed pointlessly on the altar of one political ideology or another. Again and again, men of slogans and ambition seduce and delude their more decent auditors; the many are swayed by the hypocritical rhetoric of the few. Repeatedly, violence generates yet more violence.” Not much has changed since 1599 - or 44 BCE, for that matter.

[angelalam-300700 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am doing some preliminary research and decided to start with Shakespeare.

[datrappert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of Shakespeare's greatest and most accessible plays. Marc Antony's speech is one of Shakespeare's best, especially as it follows what would otherwise seem a pretty good speech by Brutus. Cutthroat politics goes back a long way....

[scottcholstad · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not Shakespeare's best, but then even his lesser works are better than 99% of the rest out there. Not my favorite, but still recommended.

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's Shakespeare, so pretty much everyone dies.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cassius is quickly able to plant the idea of overthrowing Julius Caesar in the mind of Brutus, a man who claims to love Caesar. Cassius and Brutus gather a group of the Caesar's friends, who they join together to murder the leader, then tell each other that they did the man a favor and will be remembered for their courage in removing a tyrant. But then Marcus Antony gives a clever eulogy at the funeral, which causes the public to question the motives of the assassins, the conspirators no longer trust one another and Brutus finds his position threatened.A good example of how power corrupts, as even the good guy, Antony, tries to manipulate his friends to gain more for himself.

[michael_rose-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One begins to understand cultural references the more one reads Shakespeare, and Julius Caesar is no exception to this rule (this is perhaps especially true for Star Trek fans). The fault being not in our stars but in ourselves is a great bit of poetry that everyone should heed.

[delta351 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love the Folger editions w awesome illustrations from the library. This is a larger sized paperback which is easy on the eyes. I have to say that Shakespeare is fairly neutral in presenting the main characters.Was happy to see "Let loose the dogs of war", though I previously thought that was from one of the Henry's.

[clancy.coonradt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wonderful classic that truly speaks to the duality of man and his eternal search for not only power, but those that are truly pure at heart. Amazing how many quotes and sayings have come from this piece of literature.

[jhudsui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Enh I don't know what I can tell you about this. Antony's funeral oration is fairly amusing.

[martinbodek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'Tis happened upon chance that mine eyes have read the tale of Julius Caesar. For sooth, a great tragedy were 't. Yet happiness was clutch't betwixt mine hands that such wordsmithings are imbued into my corpus of knowledge. Brutus was not a noble understood, know that I now. It has cometh to pass that Royal Antony's quotes sitteth in upon my vernacular at the ready. What pleasure shall I give mine eyes to scan upon next? Be it, I prayeth, one of Sir William's comedies, for these tragedic readings have ravaged vexings upon my soul. Twelfth Night? Much Ado About Nothing? Instruct me, fellow plebeians.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. Et tu, Brute. Beware the ides of March.” I'm a little embarrassed to admit that this is all I knew of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar up to this point in my life. There's so much more to this play. Shakespeare captures the tension and drama of the last years of the Roman Republic and the role of Julius Caesar's ambition in hastening its end. The L.A. Theatre Works audio production is outstanding. The cast includes Richard Dreyfuss, Kelsey Grammar, Stacy Keach, John De Lancie, and JoBeth Williams. I will listen to this recording again. Next time I will plan to do my listening when I'm able to follow along in the printed text.

[coach_of_alva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Shakespeare’s dissection of the damage that idealism can do in politics is still relevant.

[locriian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My favourite part of this play is the "Antony is an honest man" speech. Excellent.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

So dry. What a mistake to cram this down 15-year old throats just because it's short. How many 10th graders have been completely turned off by Shakespeare because this is over their head. I really didn't care much for this. Many of his history plays are far superior. Should've been called "The Rise and Fall of Brutus" because Caesar is such a minor character -- no development either.