Titus Andronicus
Setting:
Rome, Italy outside the tomb
Characters:
Captain Titus Andronicus Lucius Tamora Chiron Demetrius
Events:
Titus Andronicus returns from the battle against the Goths with 2 prisoners the queen Tamora and her son Alarbus. He is standing outside a tomb where he will place yet another son. Lucius asks to burn Tamora’s son as a tribute/ritual to the Gods. This includes cutting limb by limb off and then the skin and then burn the rest of it. Tamora’s then tries to persuade Titus to change his mind about it to say you have been in this position many times before so don’t break my heart as well. Titus ignores her outcry and goes ahead with it. In the end he places the coffin with his son in the tomb.
Themes:
I think the theme of revenge is the main theme throughout this part.
Quotations:
Titus, unkind and careless of thine own, why suffer’st thou thy sons, unburied yet, to hover on the dreadful shore of Styx?
Explanation:
This quote suggests to me that Shakespeare is asking Titus Andronicus how many more sons will you have to lose in battle. However, he is getting older and therefore is not able to make any more sons so he might eventually end up with no sons. This language feature is a rhetorical question and is designed to put a different thought into our heads as the reader.
January 8, 2015 at 9:15 pm
This is a very comprehensive scene summary, Albion. You demonstrate an excellent understanding of the narrative. Very well done.
When writing your explanation, you could push yourself further to analyse the theme and language features contained within it.
Treat this section like an analytical paragraph, so develop your explanation beyond ‘put a different thought into our heads’. Be specific about what thought. I feel as though the rhetorical question shows Titus’ weariness of war. He returns home with tears in his eyes to bury yet another son. Questioning the gods shows uncertainty and certain level of desperation.
What are your thoughts?