redo this shakespeare paper!!

8/10/2019 Redo This Shakespeare Paper!!

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Aaron MatisShakespeareEric Song9 October 2014

General CommentsThis paper tries to articulate some really smart insights. I think youre right that Laviniasraven imagery is quite odd or even mysterious, and that it might ultimately help toexplain not only Tamoras fate but also the conditions that have produced Tituss tragicsituation and will lead to his tragic end. As youll see from my marginal comments

below, you havent yet arrived at a methodical structure an d order of ideas that allowsyou to present a convincing, cumulative set of analyses & findings/conclusions. Youropening rushes by the actual context of the speech and its basic, literal meaning instead,you present a kind of imprecise account of what the speech means or warns. As a result,

the ensuing remarks about how this speech relates not only to Tamora but also to Titusarent particularly convincing. Throughout much of this paper, theres a way that youmake big assertions and then come back later to try to fill them in. But this allows lots ofinaccuracies to creep in often in the form of empty historical claims posing as evidence.

It wouldve been effective if you had gone back and started with a crisp articulation ofthe setup of this scene:

- Lavinia has appealed to Chirons pity but has received none; - Lavinia then declares that this is predictable since the raven-like mother Tamora

wouldnt give birth to lark -like (i.e., merciful) sons- but eventually Lavinia asks Tamora to be raven-like in a different way, choosingto take in a forlorn child (i.e., Lavinia) at the expense of her biological offspring.

Even this kind of basic summary suggests how weird Lavinias logic really is, and howmuch is left to be explained. And its only here that the body of your essay couldvestarted by pursuing the right questions. Turning back to Tamoras own failed request for

pity in the opening scene of the play (as you eventually do in this paper) wouldve helpedyou consider how the gender twists (father-sons-daughter vs. mother-sons) work and howthey matter in different ways. (Consider the role of the Andronici sons with respect totheir father and with respect to the Goths; consider how different the setup is when wehave Tamora and her sons acting with respect to Tituss daughter Lavinia.) And all ofthis, in turn, wouldve provided the proper, stable foundation for the perceptivesuggestion that the raven image actually can serve to get us thinking about Tituss role as

parent.


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Youll see in my commen ts below more specific ways that the structure of the paper andthe mode of analysis/evidence couldve been refined. None of this is meant to discountthe good thinking thats going on here. Rather, I want to suggest all the ways that refiningyour approach could really make your insights sharper and more persuasive.

Grade: B

Parents as Ravens: A Close Reading of 2.3.149-160

Lavinias p lea for mercy in Act Two, Scene Three is [contains] a concise metaphor

that synopsizes the role of both parental figures (Tamora and Titus) in Shakespeares

Titus Andronicus. She pleas:

LAVINIA: Tis true, the raven doth not hatch a lark. Yet have I heard

O, could I find it now! The lion, move with pity, did endure To have

his princely paws pared all away. Some say that ravens foster forlorn

children The whilst their own birds famish in their nests. O, be to me,

though thy hard heart says no, Nothing so kind, but something pitiful.

(2.3.149-156)

What does the metaphor mean in the context that Lavinia speaks it? What should be

made of Lavinia exaltation of the raven for abandoning its children in lieu of fostering

other, forlorn children?

In its immediate context, the raven metaphor summarizes the danger that Tamora

subjects both of her sons remaining sons, Chiron and Demetrius, to in asking them to

rape and mutilate Titus daughter, Lavinia. There are several possibilities that can be

derived from Tamoras actions. It is possible that she is oblivious to the da nger that she is

putting Chiron and Demetrius in. However this seems unlikely given her premeditated

plan in conjunction with her knowledge of Titus influence among the people of Rome,


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particularly her husband, Saturninus. It seems much more plausible that this is the

moment of Tamoras tragic hubris. In Act One, Scene One Tamora expresses her desire

for power when she asks of Saturninus: My lord, be ruled by me, be won at lastAnd

make them know what tis to let a queen / Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain

(1.1.430451 -452). Her obsession with avenging the death of her son, Alarbus, restricts

her from seeing Lavinia as a humans child, and instead forces her to see Lavinia as a

member of the Andronici. This distinction is important for several reasons. It is possible

that her vengeful rage disables her from remembering the feeling of losing her own child

at the hands of Titus the previous night. It is also possible that Tamora does rememberthe pain she felt after losing Alarbus and wishes to reciprocate/enhance that pain in Titus

through the mutilation of Lavinia and the murders of Martius and Quintus. If this is the

case, Tamora serves as the raven that, in a twisted manner, concerns herself with forlorn

children at the expense of her own who will famish in their nests because of her desire

for vengeance (2.3.153-154). She commits the same act of child slaughter, which she

describes as cruel irreligious piety in Act One, Scene One (1.1.130).

In Act One, Scene One Tamora begs for the life of her son, Alarbus. In the name of

his deceased soldier-sons, Titus ignores her plea and decrees that the death of Alarbus is

for their brethren slain / Religiously they ask a sacrifice (1.1.23 -124). Titus denies

Tamoras plea in the name of virtue, or rather what the current customs deemed virtuous.

The murder of Alarbus seems to be a common religious or ritual sacrifice of the time that

took place after the opposing side of the war had been captured. While Titus is not aware

of the subsequent shift in power dynamics that will occur after Tamora seizes the position

of queen, his murder of Alarbus foreshadows the impending death of his own sons at the


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hands of Demetrius and Chiron with the guidance of Tamora and Aaron, who first

declared the Andronici safe from the danger of vengeance.

Titus also serves as a raven within the metaphor. Lavinias admiration for the kindness

that a raven exhibits in its willingness to foster helpless birds in lieu of its own serves as a

correlate to her appraisal of her father, who sends several of his sons off to war in order

to protect the citizens of Rome from famishing in their nest. While Titus progenies serve

the citizens of Rome and receive ceremonial burials upon returning home, his son Mutius

is murdered for disagreeing with his father. This creates a juxtaposition within the Raven

metaphor and, in essence, fixes Titus as a less virtuous character than Tamora. WhereasTitus kills Tamoras Alarbus in line with virtue and custom, he kill s his son either out of

principle or out of uncontrollable anger. Neither justification paints Titus as a

commendable figure. Rather, these possibilities suggest that his lunacy existed before the

first act of the play.

After Lavinia is denied the forgiveness that Titus denied Alarbus, Lavinia attempts to

reason with the vengeful Tamora. In argument, Lavinia pleads, O, let me teach thee for

my fathers sake / That gave thee life when well he might have slain thee. / Be not

obdurate, open thy deaf ears (2.3.158 -160). Lavinia implies that her father, in killing

Tamoras son rather than Tamora herself, granted her a courtesy. This twisted logic

highlights Lavi nias understanding of the classic parental figure . It is understood

throughout most culture that a parent would die for his/her children. This is a motif that

exists throughout literature, art, and society. However Lavinia is oblivious to the notion

of parental self- sacrifice. Lavinias lack of understanding t he conventional motives of

loving parents seems to indicate a source of rich subtext. It is clear that Titus emotional


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states are varied. At first, he seems to have a controlled obsession with honor and valor

along with a profound respect for his deceased sons, whom society has deemed honorable

due to their death in defense of Rome. Within minutes after the ceremonial burial, Titus

murders Mutius, one of his sons who returns from the war, for disrespecting him in

attempting to protect his sister, Lavinia. After the murder, Titus takes the incident a step

further in resisting that Mutius burial take place within the sacred tomb of Titus

ancestors. Only after fervent arguments and pleas does Titus allow Mutius to be buried

within the ancestral tomb. What do es this incident reveal about Titus role as a father

figure? What does Lavinias unceasing admiration reveal about her role as a daughter or,more broadly, a woman in Rome at this time?

It is clear that Titus takes pride in his progenies, at least those that die an honorable

death. When Mutius attempts to defend Bassianius right to Lavinia, Titus senses that his

power is under question and lashes out in a murderous stabbing. If he kills his son for

protecting his own sister with general nonchalance, it is safe to assume that Titus is less

concerned with achieving virtue in fatherhood, and more concerned with his own power

dynamics within both his familial relations and the Rome elite. If this is the case, then

what makes Lavinia admire Titus as much as she does? There are several possibilities. In

Rome, to be a woman was to be property of the father. Then, upon the fathers approval,

the woman became property of the man whom the father deemed appropriate for her to

marry. The nature of gender and familial relations of the time gives insight into Lavinias

willingness to ignore the murder of Mutius at the hands of Titus. However when she is

confronted with threats of violence at the hands of Tamora, Lavinia begs that she be able

to teach Tamora the idea of forgiveness for the sake of her father. Of course, Lavinias


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pleas are not heard and Tamora mutilates her through the use of her sons, Chiron and

Demetrius. This is the consummate representation of the double-raven metaphor. Tamora

fits into the role of the raven when she ignores the potential catastrophes that will befall

her sons as a result of her actions. The ironic joke being that her famished children will

later be fed to her. At the same time, Titus is the raven. His willingness to believe

Tamoras offer of absolution and his insistence on hunting with Saturninus the morning

after he refuses to take Lavinia as his wife are what puts Lavinia in the forest in the first

place. The forest, of course, acts as a metaphorical nest in which Lavinia is abandoned.

The joke then gets funnier when Lavinia loses her tongue, which can be read as another pun on t he ravens famished children. The final piece of the joke is added when the

reader witnesses Quintus and Martius fall into the metaphorical nest, or womb,

suggesting that the two characters are stillborn or aborted from that point on in the plot.

The raven metaphor is mysterious and, at times, unclear. What does Lavinia believe to

be noble or kind about the ravens abandoning of her children? Lavinias impression of

the raven might come as a form of self-delusion. In the eyes of the Roman people, Titus

is revered for his virtue and honor. At the beginning of the production, h is sons

collective death toll seems to contribute to his grandeur, as if there is a correlation

between the number of Titus sons lost and the magnitude of respe ct Titus receives.

Perhaps then, it is accurate to assume that Lavinia, like the rest of the Roman citizens, has

been deluded into believing that Titus sacrifice of his own progeny is somehow the

ultimate act of altruism. In offering his seeds to the defense of Rome, he has knelt before

the citizens and offered himself.


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The scene with the raven metaphor can also have an interesting means of staging.

There are two options. A director can portray Lavinia as a helpless, terrified beggar who

wants nothing more than her life to be saved. If this option were chosen, Lavinia would

beg for her own life on her hands and knees. Depending on how far the director wanted to

push it, Lavinia should roll around on the ground and kiss Tamoras feet. Another option

would be to have Lavinia represent the female embodiment of Titus from the opening

scene: the proud, audacious daughter. If this option were chosen, Lavinias lines would

be delivered with brash disdain for Tamora. This would make the lesson she wishes to

teach Tamora in the name of Titus much more poignant and charged. This option wouldalso parallel Titus own ignorance that tends to cause problems throughout the play.

Depending on the choice that is made for Lavinias pleas, the subsequent scene that

features Titus plea to the noble tribunes is changed. If the first option is chosen (pathetic

Lavinia), then Titus can do the same. He can exhibit the same signs of insanity or self-

abandonment through rolling on the ground, kiss the tribunes feet, etc. This would create

a mirror image effect that shows how similar Lavinia is to Titus in mannerism. Another

method of staging could entail Titus as the ignorant, proud figure, who speaks his lines

with irony and jest. He can shout at the tribunes and ridicule them for their inaction and

ignorance. If this acting method is chosen, it either heightens the despai r in Lavinias

previous scene in that she has been her fathers pawn (and societys pawn being a

woman) throughout the entire play or it shows the fatal genetic flaw of pride if paired

with Lavinias proud, resentful acting choice. All four of the combinat ions would create a

unique and satisfying feeling within the context of Lavinia and Titus relation to one


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another as characters and relatives. The staging can determine whether Lavinia exists in

the forest as a famished bird or a proud Andronici.


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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine

Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays, the

Sonnets. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print.

redo this shakespeare paper!!

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