The title page of the 1594 quarto of Shakespeare's
Titus Andronicusdescribes it as having been performed by the Lord Pembroke's and the Earl of Sussex's servants. Because Shakespeare is believed to have been associated with Pembroke's Men during the early 1590s, most scholars date the play between 1592 and 1594, though some would date it as early as 1589. Shakespeare drew upon the revenge tragedies of the Roman playwright Seneca as well as Thomas Kyd's
The Spanish Tragedy(ca. 1589) for the conventions that shape his bloody spectacle, but the play is also informed by Ovid's
Metamorphoses, particularly the description of Procne and Philomela's terrible revenge against Tereus, who raped his sister-in-law and cut out her tongue.
Although the tragedy depicts no historical emperor, it takes
2882 words
Citation: Vaughan, Virginia Mason. "Titus Andronicus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001; last revised 27 January 2019. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8370, accessed 22 November 2024.]
