Titus Andronicus

1
Titus Andronicus

• And the revenge tragedy tradition

2
What is a revenge tragedy?

• A Renaissance form, it begins in the Tudor period
  during the flowering of drama in the generation
  before Shakespeare arrives in London (1570s and
  80s)
• Typical revenge tragedies become tragic because
  all choices open to the protagonist are dangerous
  or sinful to choose to revenge oneself is
  always un-Christian (i.e., wrong to the
  Renaissance mind).

3
Typical revenge tragedy plot

• Protagonist discovers that a death he had
  believed to be natural was murder but that no
  legal recourse is open to him
• No one else knows or believes it was murder
• The Murderer is himself the figure that is
  supposed to dispense Justice
• Another loved or important innocent person will
  suffer when the murder is avenged
• Loads of people die.

4
Typical Revenge tragedies dilemmas

• How does one reconcile being a good Christian
  (forgiving ones enemies) with being obliged to
  avenge murdered kin?
• What happens when doing a good thing bringing
  punishment to a murderer has unintended bad
  results (to those loved innocent people)?
• How does one learn how to judge a persons
  goodness by his outer appearance?

5
Typical revenge tragedy structure

• Move from disorder (b/c of the un-avenged death)
  to order but not a healthy order, the order of
  the grave
• Over the top sort of structure multiple
  wrongdoings, multiple deaths, lots of blood and
  gore wrong heaped upon wrong.
• Appearance vs reality issues people look fair
  but are foul
• Once revenge embarked upon, it leads only to more
  death.