Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588-1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were extremely popular with audiences throughout the 16th Century.

    The play is set during the latter days of the Roman Empire and tells the story of Titus, a fictional general in the Roman army, who is engaged in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, Queen of the Goths. It is Shakespeare's bloodiest and most violent work. Traditionally it is one of his least respected plays. Although extremely popular in its day, it had fallen out of favor by the late-17th Century. The Victorian era disapproved of it largely because of what was regarded as its distasteful graphic violence. However, beginning around the middle of the 20th Century, its reputation began to improve.

Even as a younger man, during the earlier days when my Shakespearean love affair was only but in the courting phase, I admired the complexity of this play. With the twists and turns abound, as well as a reader's own shifting loyalties, Shakespeare penned a brilliant soap-operatic, bloody piece of literature. As my love for Shakespeare's plays grew, I rarely returned to this play, because his other plays offer a little more dramatic insight into the human condition as well as more decomposable turns of phrase. However, even though I wouldn't list this play in the top ten of my favorite Shakespeare plays, I would recommend a read through or a viewing, even though it hasn't been made into many film versions (Titus, with Anthony Hopkins, is a fair production), if only to gain a broader scope of Shakespeare's talent.