Christopher Titus

To be Mad or Not to be Mad? That is the Question. Have you ever thought of yourself as a tragic hero? A tragic hero a great character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for defeat. “ According to the critic, a tragic hero has three prominent characteristics: (1) a will-power that surpasses that of average people, (2) an exceptionally intense power of feel- ing, and (3) and unusually high level of intelli- gence.”(George Detmold 219) With being a tragic hero, come a tragic flaw. A tragic flaw…

The first thing that comes to mind when trying to link William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet with the concept of metatheatre, is the play which is staged by young Hamlet to confront his uncle Claudius with the murder of the old king Hamlet. Nevertheless, even though nothing qualifies more as metatheatre than this particular scene, the play-within-a-play is not the only significant device of metatheatre in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. There are several more metatheatrical plots that can be detected in the…

“Titus Andronicus”, The Theme of Power And Its Significance “Titus Andronicus” is strewn with various subjects ranging from treachery to revenge and all emotions mixed in between. But there is a specific theme of power materialization in several forms. There are three types of power themes that are prevalent in “Titus Andronicus”. These themes are female, male and parental power, which are all significant and commanding each in its own way. These power displays are neither blatant nor subtle,…

In the time that, Titus Andronicus is set, women were greatly oppressed and held down by patriarchy. Not only did this play a role in Shakespeare 's writing, but also women being looked down upon in his own time. Natalie Marie DeJonghe explains, “During the early modern period women were considered second-class citizens.” (DeJonghe 4) It is hard to say whether Shakespeare meant to show the misogyny of his time in this play or if he was even aware of it. None the less it is present and shows…

In Romeo and Juliet Act I the Prince sets a law that whoever gets in a fight will be killed. But in this scene Mercutio and Tybalt get in a fight. Tybalt won the fight and Romeo decided to fight him and killed him. Instead of death Princes punishment for Romeo was banishment from Verona. I believe that princes punishment is appropriate because he killed Tybalt like the law would, he was trying to avoid fighting, and he listened to the rules that the Prince made. With the fight of Tybalt and…

“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.”- Bryant H. Mcgill. I chose this quote because it relates a lot with Romeo and Juliet and how they love each other and when they do something wrong they forgive each other with love. Romeo and Juliet are good at forgiving each other and they also have a great amount of trust with each other. Romeo and Juliet are in love because, Romeo comes back for Juliet after he was banned from Verona, Romeo would rather be dead…

Hamlet’s monolog is one governed by rationality. It is a meditation on life and death, being alive and not being, over the disadvantages of existence and the act of suicide. Hamlet compares life with death. He sees life as missing the power, humans as being exposed to the blows of life and outrageous fortune. The only way to dodge the blows will be to stop existing. The death is thus a desirable state. Nevertheless, it is also seen as a journey to the unknown, to a place for which there is no…

“Titus Andronicus” and “Hamlet”, are both revenge tragedy stories that revolve around strong families with complicated relationships that contain individuals seeking revenge for wrong doings. Both nontraditional film versions were produced within a couple years of each other; Titus, directed by Julie Taymor in 1999 and Hamlet, directed by Michael Almereyda in 2000. Comparing these films,…

This revival of Titus Andronicus was an off-off Broadway production by New York Shakespeare Exchange; it ran from February- January in 2015. This production was directed and adapted by Ross Williams, who has directed many shows around the world. The show had a successful run, and all the reviews were positive. There was a fascinating twist, this productions setting of William Shakespeare’s most bloody play now takes place in a circus tent in the midst of a carnival. Titus Andronicus follows the…

Titus is a film directed by Julie Taymor. This film, adapted from Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, premiered on December 24th, 1999. It's set in a modern Rome, perhaps the 1950's, but maintains ancient Roman culture. As in Richard III, music plays a prominent feature in Titus. Taymor, unlike Loncraine, uses music to exaggerate specific emotions displayed by her characters. In the scene where Tamora vows to massacre Andronicus and his family, sinister sounding music interrupts the steady stream…