A Close Reading of Titus Andronicus

Titus – Seeing the Dark Side of the Moon Titus Andronicus is a study of the conflict between personal responsibilities and duty to the state. Shakespeare establishes the character of Titus early in the play. He is a loyal subject of Rome, a commander of legions, and a career soldier who devoted his life to defending and expanding the Roman Empire. Titus serves the state in such blind loyalty that it gets to the point of neglecting his duty to his family as a father and patriarch. Throughout the play, from the triumph parade in act 1 scene 1 to the execution of his sons in act 3 scene 1, Titus maintains blind devotion and steadfast loyalty to Rome. Act 3 Scene1 is a pivotal scene in the play; it is the moment when Titus goes through changes in heart and mind. In this scene, Titus suffers through the agony of all his losses from the revenge acts of Tamora to the corruption of Rome. In this scene, Titus changes from subject to freeman, proud general to grieving father, giving his first priority to Rome to giving his first priority to family, and from a mind full of hopeless despair to a mind full of hope for revenge. In the first 5 lines, Titus is pleading with the powerful leaders of Rome to stay the execution of his two sons as a reward for his service to Rome, “Hear me, grave fathers! Noble tribunes, stay! / For pity of mine age, whose youth was spent / In dangerous wars, whilst you securely slept; / For all my blood in Rome's great quarrel shed; / For all the frosty nights that I have watch'd” (3.1.1-5). Obviously, in these five lines Titus is pleading for his sons' lives. However, looking beyond the words at the whole situation reveals the full impact of this scene. Titus had spent his whole adult life in the army. He was the quintessential career military man; he had literally shed his blood for all the values he believed in and the system of order that made those values possible, the Roman Empire. With this in mind, the scene of Titus, the nobleman,