Important Points to Remember:
- A violent revenge play written about 1591 in collaboration with George Peele, one of the University Wits (title to be pronounced as /ˌtaɪtəs ænˈdrɒnɪkəs/)
- Ravenscroft has criticised the play,: "'tis the most incorrect and indigested piece in all his works. It seems rather a heap of rubbish than a structure"
- Dr. Johnson has also condemned the play that "the barbarity of the spectacles, and the general massacre which are here exhibited, can scarcely be conceived tolerable to any audience."
- T. S. Eliot finds fault with Peele rather than Shakespeare whom he defends : "one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever written, a play in which it is incredible that Shakespeare had any hand at all, a play in which the best passages would be too highly honoured by the signature of Peele."
- In Mike Gene Wallace's words : This is a great play. We're talking fourteen dead bodies, kung-fu, sword-fu, spear-fu, dagger-fu, arrow-fu, pie-fu, animal screams on the soundtrack, heads roll, hands roll, tongues roll, nine and a half quarts of blood, and a record-breaking 94 on the vomit meter."
Tit for tat is the spirit of this drama. Titus Andronicus, a Roman general has lost his 21 sons out of 25 in the war and the play begins with his revenge on Tamora, queen of the Goths for this. She is made a captive and her elder son is sacrificed in the ritual inspite of her plea. Her revenge on Titus for this and his counter revenge on her cover the remaining part of the play.
Saturnicus the new emperor marries Tamora who plans for the downfall of Titus with the aid of her paramour Aaron the Moore.
Persuaded by Aaron, the two sons of Tamora - Chiron and Demetrius kill Bassianus, brother of Saturnicus and also brutally rape Lavinia, Titus ' daughter. Her tongue and hands are also cut off to silence her. Lucius, son of Titus is falsely accused of the murder of Bassianus and is banished from Rome.
Then the revenge of raged Titus begins. He pretends to be mad and kills both Chiron and Demetrius and makes pie out of them that is served to Tamora. Titus asks the emperor whether a father should kill his molested daughter. The emperor says "yes", Titus kills his own daughter and also stabs Tamora who is unknowingly tasting the feast of pie made up of by the blood of her killed sons. Enraged Saturnicus kills Titus but he himself is killed in turn by Lucius who has just now invaded Rome gathering a large army. Aaron refuses to repent till the end and therefore he is also buried chest-deep alive. Thus the whole play is filled with violence, death, murder, rape and bloodshed.
Who are in the play? Sinners. What do they do? Sins. Who would watch this play? Absolutely sinners.
Ten Years War fought by Titus reveals his bravery. His refusal of throne throws light on his magnanimity. His pretension of madness unfolds his cleverness but killing of his own pathetic daughter and making pie out of Tamora 's sons discloses his brutality.
Tamora arouses pity in our heart at her plea to Titus not to sacrifice her son but soon her Lady Macbeth 's heart earns disgust when she, being a woman, wants Lavinia to be raped by her own sons. No moral, no message, no admirable story prevails where the great dramatist Shakespeare writes the play with the piercing pen filled with blood.
Watch the trailer if you dare to:
No comments:
Post a Comment