Titus Andronicus

One of Shakespeare’s earliest tragedies, probably written in collaboration with George Peele, Titus capitalized on the late-sixteenth century vogue for bloody revenge tragedy. It was extremely popular in its time, going through three quarto editions, and following in the footsteps of other runaway successes in the genre, most notably The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd from 1592.

The subsequent years were not kind to the play, and its rampant gore and slaughter (including dismemberment, rape, and several of the main characters being baked into a pie) meant that it stayed pretty much off the stage in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many critics still feel this way, with Harold Bloom claiming (in Shakespeare and the Invention of the Human) that the best choice to direct the play today would be Mel Brooks.

A landmark production in 1956, directed by Peter Brook, opened the door to taking the play seriously, and it has been read, in its treatment of madness and revenge upon revenge, to faintly prefigure King Lear. One thing’s for sure: it isn’t boring.

The Peacham Drawing, possibly from 1595, is thought to be the only surviving contemporary illustration of a Shakespearean play. It depicts a scene from Titus.

Purchase Titus Andronicus:

The Arden Shakespeare
The Oxford Shakespeare
The New Cambridge Shakespeare
Signet Classics Shakespeare