Titus Andronicus

Critical Essays

Philip C. Kolin, Philip C. Kolin, Philip Kolin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781138892354
• eBook ISBN: 9781317532378
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Originally published in 1995. In three parts – introduction, criticism and reviews – this volume examines the goriest of Shakespeare's works. The editor's exhaustive introduction runs through the pattern of changing scholarship and commentary, introducing the key interests in the play, from its authorship to its language, rhetoric and performance. Early commentaries focused on arguing about whether the play was truly Shakespeare's. A selection of the most important of these are included here followed by later investigations looking at myriad topics and characters – revenge, violence, race, Aaron, women, tragedy and Tamora. The large section of reviews of stage performances, arranged chronologically, ranges from 1857 to 1990. Two final pieces interestingly survey stage history of Titus in Japan and in Germany.

TITUS ANDRONICUS

CRITICAL ESSAYS

EDITED BY

PHILIP C. KOLIN

GARLAND PUBLISHING, INC.

NEW YORK AND LONDON

1995

Copyright © 1995 by Philip С. Kolin

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Titus Andronicus : critical essays / edited by Philip C. Kolin.

p. cm. — (Garland reference library of the humanities ; vol. 1670. Shakespeare criticism ; v. 12)

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 0-8153-1159-1 (alk. paper)

DOI: 10.4324/9781315724911

1. Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. Titus Andronicus. 2. Generals in literature. 3. Rome—In literature. 4. Tragedy. I. Kolin, Philip C. II. Series: Garland reference library of the humanities ; vol. 1670. III. Series: Garland reference library of the humanities. Shakespeare criticism ; v. 12.

PR2835.T57 1995

822.3’3—dc20

95-10367

CIP

Printed on acid-free, 250-year-life paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

For JC, Mary, and Sharron

Figure 1 (Frontispiece) Peter Brook's production, 1955. Lucius (Michael Dinison) and Marcus (Alan Webb) watch Lavinia (Vivien Leigh) and Titus (Sir Laurence Olivier). Photograph by Angus McBean. Used with permission. Courtesy Shakespeare Center Library

Contents

• GENERAL EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• I TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CRITICAL LEGACY
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CRITICAL LEGACY Philip C. Kolin
• II TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CRITICS
  • EARLY SHAKESPEARE Edward Dowden
  • SHAKSPERE AND HIS PREDECESSORS — TITUS ANDRONICUS Frederick S. Boas
  • How TITUS ANDRONICUS LOOKS FORWARD TO SHAKESPEARE’S LATER PLAYS H. Bellyse Baildon
  • THE AUTHORSHIP OF TITUS ANDRONICUS H[ereward] T. Price
  • THE METAMORPHOSIS OF VIOLENCE IN TITUS ANDRONICUS Eugene M. Waith
  • “WILDERNESS OF TIGERS”: STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM IN TITUS ANDRONICUS Alan Sommers
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS: THE FORM OF SHAKESPEARIAN TRAGEDY A.C. Hamilton
  • AARON Eldred Jones
  • THE STRANGER IN SHAKESPEARE: AARON Leslie A. Fiedler
  • THE HYBRID IMAGE IN SHAKESPEARE: AARON Bernard Spivack
  • RAPE AND REVENGE IN TITUS ANDRONICUS David Willbern
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS: ROME AND THE FAMILY Robert S. Miola
  • TO STARVE WITH FEEDING: SHAKESPEARE’S IDEA OF ROME Gail Kern Paster
  • A MARGIN FOR ERROR: RHETORICAL CONTEXT IN TITUS ANDRONICUS Jane Hiles
  • PERFORMING TEXTS IN TITUS ANDRONICUS Philip C. Kolin
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS Maurice Charney
  • MAKING MORE OF THE MOOR: AARON, OTHELLO, AND RENAISSANCE REFASHIONINGS OF RACE Emily C. Bartels
  • CULTURAL DISINTEGRATION IN TITUS ANDRONICUS: MUTILATING TITUS, VERGIL, AND ROME Heather James
  • “COME DOWN AND WELCOME ME TO THIS WORLD’S LIGHT”: TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CANONS OF CONTEMPORARY VIOLENCE Philip C. Kolin
  • “THAT RAVENOUS TIGER TAMORA”: TITUS ANDRONICUS’S LUSTY WIDOW, WIFE, AND M/OTHER Dorothea Kehler
  • “UPON HER WIT DOTH EARTHLY HONOR WAIT”: FEMALE AGENCY IN TITUS ANDRONICUS Carolyn Asp
  • COURTING IN DUMB SHOW: AN EDITORIAL AND THEATRICAL MODIFICATION IN THE TEXT OF TITUS ANDRONICUS William Proctor Williams
  • “O CRUEL, IRRELIGIOUS PIETY!”: STAGE IMAGES OF CIVIL CONFLICT IN TITUS ANDRONICUS David Bevington
• III TITUS ANDRONICUS ON STAGE
  • TO THE READER Edward Ravenscroft
  • A REVIEW OF IRA ALDRIDGE’S TITUS AT THE BRITANNIA, HUXTON [1857]
  • TITUS AT THE OLD VIC, 1923 Carados
  • STAGING OF TITUS ANDRONICUS GIVES ALPHA DELTA PHI PLACE IN SHAKESPEAREAN HISTORY, YALE UNIVERSITY [1924] A.M. Witherspoon
  • RED MEAT AT STRATFORD: TITUS ANDRONICUS MAKES ITS BOW AT THE MEMORIAL THEATRE [1955] Desmond Pratt
  • SHAKESPEARE — CRUEL AND TRUE [PETER BROOK’S TITUS, 1955] Jan Kott
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS: A CRIMSON-FLUSHED STAGE! [TITUS IN 1955] Daniel Scuro
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS [AT CENTER STAGE, BALTIMORE, 1967] Martin Gottfried
  • TITUS ANDRONICUS [AT THE DELACORTE THEATER, 1967] Gerald Freedma...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Title Page 1
• Copyright Page 1
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Table of Contents
• GENERAL EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• I TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CRITICAL LEGACY
• II TITUS ANDRONICUS AND THE CRITICS
• III TITUS ANDRONICUS ON STAGE