Titus Andronicus

By William Shakespeare

Read & Co. Classics presents this new beautiful edition of William Shakespeare's play, "Titus Andronicus" (1594). This edition features a specially commissioned new biography of William Shakespeare. Unlike Shakespeare’s other plays based on Roman histories, the story of “Titus Andronicus” is a fictional work. The play dramatises the gruesome events that take place in the battle for a nation between the brutal Roman general Titus and his powerful opposition, Tamora, Queen of the Goths. Multiple plots of deception, sacrifice and revenge leave a devastating trail as a destructive path to power is forged. The depiction of violent themes such as rape, cannibalism and mutilation make this Shakespeare’s darkest of plays. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and is celebrated as the world's most famous dramatist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Aug 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781528785808

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Book preview

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TITUS

ANDRONICUS

By

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

TITUS

ANDRONICUS

A Tragedy

By

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

First published in 1594

This edition is published by Classic Books Library

an imprint of Read Books Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library

Contents

William Shakespeare

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

ACT 1.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Capitol.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Rome. Before the Palace.

SCENE II. A Forest near Rome; a Lodge Seen at a Distance. Horns and Cry of Hounds Heard.

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. A Room in Titus's House. A Banquet set out.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. Rome. Before Titus's House.

SCENE II. Rome. A Room in 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. Rome. A Pavilion in Titus's Gardens, with Tables, &c.

TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED THE AUTHOR, MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

By BEN JONSON

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, as any reader of this book will presumably know, was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language - and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Referred to as England's national poet, and the 'Bard of Avon', his extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, (some with unconfirmed authorship). Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about matters as wide ranging as his physical appearance, sexuality and religious beliefs.

William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26th April 1564. His actual date of birth remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23rd April, Saint George's Day. Although no attendance records for the period survive, biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter-mile from his home. Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar. Basic Latin education had been standardised by royal decree, and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.

At the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married the twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway (who was pregnant at the time), with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the 'complaints bill' of a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster, dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9th October 1589. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. By 1598, his name had become enough of a selling point to appear on the title pages.

Shakespeare continued to act in his own and in other plays after his success as a playwright. The 1616 edition of Ben Jonson's Works names him on the cast lists for Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Sejanus His Fall (1603). During this time, Shakespeare divided his time between London and Stratford, and in 1596 bought ‘New Place’ as his family home in Stratford, whilst retaining a property in Bishopsgate, North of the river Thames. He moved across the river to Southwark by 1599, the year his company constructed the Globe Theatre there. By 1604, Shakespeare had moved north of the river again, to an area north of St Paul's Cathedral with many fine houses. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at the age of forty-nine, where he died three years later.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. The first recorded works of Shakespeare are Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI, written in the early 1590s during a vogue for historical drama. Shakespeare's plays are difficult to date however, and studies of the texts suggest that Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona may also belong to Shakespeare's earliest period. Shakespeare's early classical and Italianate comedies, containing tight double plots and precise comic sequences, give way in the mid-1590s to the romantic atmosphere of his greatest comedies. A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of his earliest comedies, is a witty mixture of romance, fairy magic, and comic lowlife scenes. The wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing, the charming rural setting of As You Like It, and the lively merrymaking of Twelfth Night complete the sequence of great comedies.

Shakespeare then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608. Many critics believe that his greatest tragedies represent the peak of his art. The titular hero of one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, Hamlet, has probably been discussed more than any other character, especially for his famous soliloquy beginning; ‘To be or not to be; that is the question.’ Unlike the introverted Hamlet, whose fatal flaw is hesitation, the heroes of the tragedies that followed, Othello and King Lear, are undone by hasty errors of judgement. In Othello, the villain Iago stokes Othello's sexual jealousy to the point where he murders the innocent wife who loves him. In King Lear, the old king commits the tragic error of giving up his powers, initiating the events which lead to the torture and blinding of the Earl of Gloucester and the murder of Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. According to the critic Frank Kermode, ‘the play-offers neither its good characters nor its audience any relief from its cruelty.’ In Macbeth, the shortest and most compressed of Shakespeare's tragedies, uncontrollable ambition incites Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, to murder the rightful king and usurp the throne, until their own guilt destroys them in turn. His last major tragedies, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus, contain some of Shakespeare's finest poetry.

Many of Shakespeare’s plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. His sonnets were

Reviews for Titus Andronicus

[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.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As the top Roman General, Titus wars with the Goths and captures their queen, Tamora, along with her three warrior sons and her secret lover, Aaron, who is a Moor. Bringing them to Rome, the eldest of the sons is ritually and brutally killed, while Tamora is forced to marry the soon-to-be Emperor. The Romans assume the Goths are now resigned to become Roman subjects, but Tamora, her sons and Aaron set about repaying Titus and Rome.Not only the most violent and bloody of Shakespeare's plays, this is the most violent play I've ever come across, period. Beheadings, limbs chopped off, rape, tongues cut out... it's a bloodbath.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Incredibly bloody, even by modern standards.

[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.  

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.