Titus Andronicus

by Shakespeare

First published 1594

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The Roman general Titus Andronicus returns from war with prisoners including Tamora, queen of the Goths. His decision to sacrifice one of her sons begins a cycle of retaliation that becomes entangled with the imperial succession and Tamora’s marriage to Saturninus.

Murder, sexual violence, mutilation and revenge escalate as both families use deception and ritualised cruelty against one another. The Rome of the play is deliberately composite rather than a reconstruction of one documented reign, but Shakespeare uses Roman institutions, imperial power and Gothic enemies to create a tragedy about what happens when honour and vengeance replace law.