No Subject

[A.M]

Titus Andronicus is a provoking work which portrays the 'baseness' of human nature and the ability, or rather inability of human nature for mercy - 'the greatest nobility'. This, at first seemingly far-fetched play, goes on to portray the downward spiral of characters seized by want of revenge. It is permeated with an exagerated drammatic tone - characters speak not to each other but to us the audience, as if directly trying to engage us into the battle against blood thirsty revenge. <br>Indeed, I do believe they succeed as nearing the end we applaud Titus's revenge as we applaud the torturing of Aaron, consequently falling into the same category as those villainous personae of Shakespeare's work. It would hardly have had the same drammatic effect in the play if Titus had had mercy on Tamora and her sons, or if her sons had taken pity on Lavinia. What Shakespeare succeeds in is portraying revenge as a more human trait than mercy, and leaves us facing the dire truth, that to "err is to be human, to forgive divine".