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Violence In Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus

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In Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, the audience encounters a dreadful array of violent acts, increasing in brutality and volume, which conclude in Tamora eating her own children ‘baked in a pie | Whereof their mother has daintily fed’ (5.3.59-60). The vivid representation and portrayal of violence, which begins with state-mandated execution, extends to rape and mutilation, and culminates in cannibalism, has earned Titus Andronicus the reputation of the most violent play written by Shakespeare. Through a close examination of the nature of the violence in the play, one could deduce that the chain of aggressions from a loss of control over legally authorized violence. The legal violence delineated in the earlier parts of the play is a dispute …show more content…

This violent depiction is the beginning of the revenge cycle the play portrays. The aforementioned event is an act of systemic violence: it is legally permitted by Rome, but the in the aftermath is catastrophic for Tamora and her family. The potential for aggression is intrinsic to Roman law, and a customary penance in the juridical capacity is by all accounts an appropriate reaction; no disagreements are taken note of. However, the caliber of legally-sanctioned violence becomes problematic when Titus executes one of his own sons for defiance. Tamora’s resolve get the most violent revenge possible – ‘I’ll find a day to massacre them all, | And raze their faction and their family (1.1.455-6) – continues into her implementing the same inhuman brutality that has been displayed by the Romans. The atrociousness that took place against Lavinia is a gruesome, yet critical, component of the play. The episode brings sexual violence into the story, and ushers in a conspicuous stretch of verbal violence – that is inherent in the speech. The sexually vicious conversation between Chiron and Demetrius is both sexist and masochistic: ‘Stay, madam, here is more belongs to her [Lavinia]: | First thrash the corn, then after burn the straw. | This minion stood upon her chastity’

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