Essay on The Real Hero of Titus Andronicus - 1812 Words

The Real Hero of Titus Andronicus I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble -Augustus Caesar (63 BC - 14 AD) In his essay, Titus Andronicus and the Mythos of Shakespeares Rome, Robert Miola uncovers and explores the myths Shakespeare uses as bedrock for the background and plot of his first Roman tragedy, Titus Andronicus. Most notably, Miola discusses two Ovidian myths, The Rape of Philomela and The Worlds Four Ages. The Rape provides Shakespeare with his basic characters and the events involving Lavinia, his Philomela, while Ovids fourth age of iron describes Shakespeares physical Rome, a quintessentially iron city, writes Miola, a military establishment protected by walls and filled with sword-carrying†¦show more content†¦Rather than this being a singular interpretation, I think my reading directly supports the heterogeneity of the citys... character of which Miola speaks. All the persons Shakespeare depicts in Titus are two dimensional, either good or bad. The dividing line falls between those who support Titus, the tragic warrior hero, and those on the side of Tamora, the evil Queen-empress. The former are noble and selfless, demonstrating roman pietas, while the latter are ignoble and selfish. In Jack E. Reeses essay, The Formalization of Horror in Titus Andronicus, he makes the point that Tamora and her sons allegorical dressing-up as Revenge, Murder, and Rapine can be viewed as a symbol of the characterization of the entire work (Horror 79). In this scene, they are as they are, the symbol is exactly the same as the person. The only two characters who might be said to escape the dichotomy are Titus and Aaron the Moor. In Rome, Titus sacrifices both his son and his daughter, says Miola, on the alter of his own personal honor (Family 67). It is fair to say that personal honor is his concern in killing his offspring, for Mutius represents shameful fil ial disobedience (or mutiny) and Lavinia represents his inability to protect her and is a reminder of a shameful act done not only to her, but to her whole Andronici family too. ItShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book Coriolanus And Titus Andronicus 1476 Words   |  6 PagesCoriolanus and Titus Andronicus are Roman warrior-heroes who both become maniacal revengers when Rome rejects them. Titus sees his revenge carried out, while Coriolanus gives up to his mother before his revenge is achieved. While Titus’ decisions allow him to experience victory and defeat, Coriolanus’ decisions cheat him out of the victory of revenge and he experiences only defeat at the hand of his once enemy, Aufidus. 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