107-419: The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus , often shortened to Titus Andronicus , is a tragedy by William Shakespeare , believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were extremely popular with audiences throughout the 16th century. Titus ,
214-435: A Competency to Stand Trial evaluation . In modern times, labeling someone as insane often carries little or no medical meaning and is rather used as an insult or as a reaction to behavior perceived to be outside the bounds of accepted norms. For instance, the definition of insanity is sometimes colloquially purported to be "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." However, this does not match
321-613: A general in the Roman army , presents Tamora, Queen of the Goths , as a slave to the new Roman emperor, Saturninus. Saturninus takes her as his wife. From this position, Tamora vows revenge against Titus for killing her son. Titus and his family retaliate, leading to a cycle of violence. Titus Andronicus was initially very popular, but by the later 17th century it was not well esteemed. The Victorian era disapproved of it, largely because of its graphic violence . Its reputation began to improve around
428-622: A mixed-race baby, fathered by Aaron, which will draw Saturninus's wrath. Though Tamora wants the baby killed, Aaron kills the nurse to keep the child's race a secret and flees to raise his son among the Goths. Thereafter, Lucius, marching on Rome with an army, captures Aaron and threatens to hang the infant. In order to save the baby, Aaron reveals the entire revenge plot to Lucius. Back in Rome, Titus's behaviour suggests he might be deranged . Convinced of Titus's madness, Tamora, Demetrius, and Chiron (dressed as
535-425: A personality disorder for the purposes of an insanity defense. The second question is whether the mental illness interfered with the defendant's ability to distinguish right from wrong. That is, did the defendant know that the alleged behavior was against the law at the time the offense was committed. Additionally, some jurisdictions add the question of whether or not the defendant was in control of their behavior at
642-416: A danger to themselves or to other people. Conceptually, mental insanity also is associated with the biological phenomenon of contagion (that mental illness is infectious) as in the case of copycat suicides . In contemporary usage, the term insanity is an informal, un-scientific term denoting "mental instability"; thus, the term insanity defense is the legal definition of mental instability. In medicine,
749-404: A date of composition as some time in early to mid-1592. However, Jonathan Bate and Alan Hughes have argued that there is no evidence that the listing is chronological, and no precedent on other title pages for making that assumption. Additionally, a later edition of the play gives a different order of acting companies – Pembroke's Men, Derby's Men, Sussex' Men and Lord Chamberlain's Men , suggesting
856-460: A glorious return to avenge his family honour) was probably based on Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus . As for Lucius' name, Frances Yates speculates that he may be named after Saint Lucius , who introduced Christianity into Britain. On the other hand, Jonathan Bate hypothesises that Lucius could be named after Lucius Junius Brutus , founder of the Roman Republic , arguing that "the man who led
963-413: A high-status central character, but they end happily like Shakespearean comedies . Almost three centuries after Shakespeare's death, the scholar F. S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the " problem play ," for plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending. Scholars continue to disagree on how to categorize some Shakespearean plays. Below
1070-504: A lion, the lion lies down and embraces the man. The emperor demands to know what has happened, and Andronicus explains that he had once helped the lion by removing a thorn from its foot. Bate speculates that this story, with one character called Titus and another called Andronicus, could be why several contemporary references to the play are in the form Titus & Ondronicus . Geoffrey Bullough argues that Lucius's character arc (estrangement from his father, followed by banishment, followed by
1177-643: A number of corrections to the Q2 text, but introduces many more errors. The First Folio text of 1623 (F1), under the title The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus , is based primarily on the Q3 text (which is why modern editors use Q1 as the control rather than the usual practice in Shakespeare of using the Folio text). However, the Folio text includes material found in none of the quarto editions, primarily Act 3, Scene 2 (also called
SECTION 10
#17328441278951284-404: A possible association with Shakespearean forger John Payne Collier has served to undermine its authenticity, while some scholars believe it depicts a play other than Titus Andronicus , and is therefore of limited use to Shakespeareans. Although Titus was extremely popular in its day, over the course of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries it became perhaps Shakespeare's most maligned play, and it
1391-410: A similar argument, believing the play was written very early in Shakespeare's career, before he came to London, possibly c. 1588 . However, the majority of scholars tend to favour a post-1590 date, and one of the primary arguments for this is that the title page of Q1 assigns the play to three different playing companies ; Derby's Men , Pembroke's Men and Sussex's Men ("As it was Plaide by
1498-519: A single genre. In Elizabethan England there was no copyright law or protections against plagiarism , so characters, plots, and even whole phrases of poetry were considered common property. The majority of Shakespeare's tragedies are based on historical figures, with the exception of Measure for Measure and Othello , which are based on narrative fictions by Giraldi Cintio . The historical basis for Shakespeare's Roman plays comes from The Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans by Plutarch , whereas
1605-484: A son for him, Itys . After five years in Thrace, Procne yearns to see her sister again, so she persuades Tereus to travel to Athens and accompany Philomela back to Thrace. Tereus does so, but he soon begins to lust after Philomela. When she refuses his advances, he drags her into a forest and rapes her. He then cuts out her tongue to prevent her from telling anyone of the incident and returns to Procne, telling her that Philomela
1712-474: A specific setting, however. For example, Jonathan Bate has pointed out that the play begins with Titus returning from a successful ten-year campaign against the Goths, as if at the height of the Roman Empire, but ends with Goths invading Rome, as if at its death . Similarly, T.J.B. Spencer argues that In his efforts to fashion general history into a specific fictional story, Shakespeare may have consulted
1819-554: A vast collection of books and manuscripts to Edinburgh University Library . There is evidence, however, that the play may have been written some years earlier than this. In 1614, Ben Jonson wrote in a preface to Bartholomew Fair that "He that will swear, Jeronimo or Andronicus are the best plays, yet shall pass unexcepted at, here, as a man whose judgement shows it is constant, and hath stood still these five and twenty, or thirty years." The success and popularity of Thomas Kyd 's The Spanish Tragedy , to which Jonson alludes,
1926-540: A victorious ten-year campaign against the Goths . Titus arrives to much fanfare , bearing with him as prisoners Tamora, Queen of the Goths, her three sons Alarbus, Chiron, and Demetrius, and her secret lover, Aaron the Moor . Despite Tamora's desperate pleas, Titus sacrifices her eldest son, Alarbus, to avenge the deaths of twenty-one of his own sons during the war. Distraught, Tamora and her two surviving sons vow to obtain revenge on Titus and his family. Meanwhile, Titus refuses
2033-400: Is Ovid's Metamorphoses ( c. AD 8 ), which is featured in the play itself when Lavinia uses it to help explain to Titus and Marcus what happened to her during the attack. In the sixth book of Metamorphoses , Ovid tells the story of the rape of Philomela , daughter of Pandion I , King of Athens. Despite ill omens , Philomela's sister, Procne , marries Tereus of Thrace and has
2140-513: Is a reference to the story of Verginia from Livy's Ab urbe condita ( c. 26 BC ). Around 451 BC, a decemvir of the Roman Republic, Appius Claudius Crassus , begins to lust after Verginia, a plebeian girl betrothed to a former tribune, Lucius Icilius . She rejects Claudius' advances, enraging him, and he has her abducted. However, both Icilius and Verginia's father, famed centurion Lucius Verginius, are respected figures and Claudius
2247-418: Is actually an abbreviation for " Newington Butts ". Brian Vickers , amongst others, finds Frazer's arguments convincing, which renders interpretation of Henslow's entry even more complex. The 1594 quarto text of the play, with the same title, was reprinted by James Roberts for Edward White in 1600 (Q2). On 19 April 1602, Millington sold his share in the copyright to Thomas Pavier. However, the next version of
SECTION 20
#17328441278952354-450: Is attested by many contemporary documents, so by placing Titus alongside it, Jonson is saying that Titus too must have been extremely popular in its day, but by 1614, both plays had come to be seen as old fashioned. If Jonson is taken literally, for the play to have been between 25 and 30 years old in 1614, it must have been written between 1584 and 1589, a theory which not all scholars reject out of hand. For example, in his 1953 edition of
2461-402: Is complicated by the existence of two other versions of the story; a prose history and a ballad; both are anonymous and undated. Ultimately, there is no clear critical consensus on the issue of the order in which the play , prose , and ballad were written, with the only tentative agreement being that at the latest, all three were probably in existence by 1594. The first definite reference to
2568-436: Is dead. However, Philomela weaves a tapestry , in which she names Tereus as her assailant, and has it sent to Procne. The sisters meet in the forest and together plot their revenge. They kill Itys and cook his body in a pie, which Procne then serves to Tereus. During the meal, Philomela reveals herself, showing Itys' head to Tereus and telling him what they have done. For the scene where Lavinia reveals her rapists by writing in
2675-499: Is forced to legally defend his right to hold Verginia. At the Forum , Claudius threatens the assembly with violence, and Verginius' supporters flee. Seeing that defeat is imminent, Verginius asks Claudius if he may speak to his daughter alone, to which Claudius agrees. However, Verginius stabs Verginia, determining that her death is the only way he can secure her freedom. For the scene where Aaron tricks Titus into cutting off one of his hands,
2782-542: Is no longer considered a medical diagnosis but is a legal term in the United States, stemming from its original use in common law . The disorders formerly encompassed by the term covered a wide range of mental disorders now diagnosed as bipolar disorder , organic brain syndromes , schizophrenia , and other psychotic disorders. In United States criminal law , insanity may serve as an affirmative defense to criminal acts and thus does not need to negate an element of
2889-455: Is no reason to suppose that Shakespeare might have come across these emperors, it is more likely that he took the name from the story " Andronicus and the lion " in Antonio de Guevara 's Epistolas familiares . That story involves a sadistic emperor named Titus who amused himself by throwing slaves to wild animals and watching them be slaughtered. However, when a slave called Andronicus is thrown to
2996-402: Is remembered, not for any intrinsic qualities of its own. Shakespearean tragedy Shakespearean tragedy is the designation given to most tragedies written by playwright William Shakespeare . Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the history of England , they were classified as "histories" in
3103-443: Is set may not be based on a real historical period. According to the prose version of the play (see below), the events are "set in the time of Theodosius ", who ruled from 379 to 395. On the other hand, the general setting appears to be what Clifford Huffman describes as "late-Imperial Christian Rome", possibly during the reign of Justinian I (527–565). Also favouring a later date, Grace Starry West argues, Others are less certain of
3210-408: Is still shocked at the accusations levelled at his sons, and upon seeing Lavinia, he is overcome with grief. Aaron then visits Titus and falsely tells him that Saturninus will spare Martius and Quintus if either Titus, Marcus, or Titus' remaining son, Lucius, cuts off one of their hands and sends it to him. Though Marcus and Lucius are willing, Titus has his own left hand cut off by Aaron and sends it to
3317-520: Is subsequently killed by Lucius to avenge his father's death. Lucius is then proclaimed Emperor. He orders that Titus and Lavinia be laid in their family tomb, that Saturninus be given a state burial, that Tamora's body be thrown to the wild beasts outside the city, and that Aaron be hanged . Aaron, however, is unrepentant to the end, regretting only that he did not do more evil in his life. Lucius decides Aaron deserves to be buried chest-deep as punishment and left to die of thirst and starvation , and Aaron
Titus Andronicus - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-404: Is taken away to be punished thus. The story of Titus Andronicus is fictional, not historical, unlike Shakespeare's other Roman plays, Julius Caesar , Antony and Cleopatra , and Coriolanus , all of which are based on real historical events and people (or, in the case of Coriolanus , believed to be historical by late Romans, as well as in Shakespeare's time). Even the time in which Titus
3531-457: Is taken from Q1. An important piece of evidence relating to both the dating and text of Titus is the so-called 'Peacham drawing' or 'Longleat manuscript'; the only surviving contemporary Shakespearean illustration, now residing in the library of the Marquess of Bath at Longleat . The drawing appears to depict a performance of Titus , under which is quoted some dialogue. Eugene M. Waith argues of
3638-575: Is the list of Shakespeare's plays listed as tragedies in the First Folio , along with the date range in which each play is believed to have been written. The English Renaissance , when Shakespeare was writing, was fueled by a renewed interest in Roman and Greek classics and neighboring renaissance literature written years earlier in Italy, France, and Spain. Shakespeare wrote the majority of his tragedies under
3745-566: The Gesta Romanorum , a well known thirteenth-century collection of tales, legends, myths, and anecdotes written in Latin , which took figures and events from history and spun fictional tales around them. In Shakespeare's lifetime, a writer known for doing likewise was Matteo Bandello , who based his work on that of writers such as Giovanni Boccaccio and Geoffrey Chaucer , and who could have served as an indirect source for Shakespeare. So, too, could
3852-462: The First Folio . The Roman tragedies— Julius Caesar , Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus —are also based on historical figures , but because their sources were foreign and ancient, they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's romances ( tragicomic plays ) were written late in his career and published originally as either tragedy or comedy . They share some elements of tragedy , insofar as they feature
3959-434: The "pseudo-Aristotelian" concept of the tragic flaw does not apply to Shakespeare's tragic figures. ) Revenge tragedy was another increasingly popular genre in this age; Shakespeare's Hamlet is one example of this. Plays of this age were also decidedly secular, in contrast to the religious morality plays which, by this time, were outlawed by Elizabeth I . One marked difference between English renaissance tragedies and
4066-401: The 'fly-killing scene'). It is believed that while Q3 was probably the main source for the Folio , an annotated prompter 's copy was also used, particularly in relation to stage directions, which differ significantly from all of the quarto texts. As such, the text of the play that is today known as Titus Andronicus involves a combination of material from Q1 and F1, the vast majority of which
4173-482: The Andronici family for their effrontery and shocks Titus by marrying Tamora. Putting into motion her plan for revenge, Tamora advises Saturninus to pardon Bassianus and the Andronici family, which he reluctantly does. During a royal hunt the following day, Aaron persuades Demetrius and Chiron to kill Bassianus so that they may rape Lavinia. They do so, throwing Bassianus's body into a pit and dragging Lavinia deep into
4280-494: The Emperor and Tamora as well, and is about to leave when Titus insists that Rape and Murder stay with him. When Tamora is gone, Titus has Chiron and Demetrius restrained, cuts their throats, and drains their blood into a basin held by Lavinia. Titus tells Lavinia that he will "play the cook", grind the bones of Demetrius and Chiron into powder, and bake their heads into two pies, which he will serve to their mother. The next day, during
4387-587: The Empire from the Death of Marcus , which features a jealous and violent tribune named Saturninus. On the other hand, Waith speculates that Shakespeare may have been thinking of an astrological theory which he could have seen in Guy Marchant 's The Kalendayr of the shyppars (1503), which states that Saturnine men (i.e. men born under the influence of Saturn ) are "false, envious and malicious." Shakespeare most likely took
Titus Andronicus - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-587: The Right Honourable the Earle of Darbie, Earle of Pembrooke, and Earle of Suſſex their Seruants"). This is highly unusual in copies of Elizabethan plays , which usually refer to one company only, if any. If the order of the listing is chronological, as Eugene M. Waith and Jacques Berthoud, for example, believe it is, it means that Sussex's Men were the last to perform the play, suggesting it had been on stage quite some time prior to 24 January 1594. Waith hypothesises that
4601-406: The act ( actus reus ) was committed. A more informal use of the term insanity is to denote something or someone considered highly unique, passionate or extreme, including in a positive sense. The term may also be used as an attempt to discredit or criticize particular ideas, beliefs, principles, desires, personal feelings, attitudes, or their proponents, such as in politics and religion. Madness,
4708-613: The arras in the Queen's chamber. The story of Lear appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regium Britanniae c. 1135 , and then in John Higgins ' poem The Mirror for Magistrates in 1574, as well as appearing in Holinshed's Chronicles in 1587. Some events that happen in Shakespeare's King Lear were inspired by various episodes of Philip Sidney 's Arcadia from 1590, while
4815-547: The ballad "Titus Andronicus' Complaint" is an entry in the Stationers' Register by the printer John Danter on 6 February 1594, where the entry "A booke intitled a Noble Roman Historye of Tytus Andronicus" is immediately followed by "Entred also vnto[ sic ] him, the ballad thereof". The earliest surviving copy of the ballad is in Richard Johnson 's The Golden Garland of Princely Pleasures and Delicate Delights (1620), but
4922-409: The basis of today's theory of psychosomatic illness. The Romans also supported humane treatment of the mentally ill, and in so doing, codified into law the principle of insanity as a mitigation of responsibility for criminal acts, although the criterion for insanity was sharply set as the defendant had to be found " non compos mentis ", a term meaning "not sound of mind". The Middle Ages witnessed
5029-477: The battlements to avoid punishment. Shakespeare also drew on various sources for the names of many of his characters. For example, Titus could have been named after the Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus , who ruled Rome from 79 to 81. Jonathan Bate speculates that the name 'Andronicus' could have come from Andronicus V Palaeologus , co-emperor of Byzantium from 1403 to 1407, but, since there
5136-409: The classics that inspired them was the use and popularity of violence and murder on stage. Select exemplary (non-Shakespearean) Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedies: Insanity Insanity , madness , lunacy , and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms , including a person or persons becoming
5243-642: The damage, he presumed some lines were missing, when in fact none were. Q2 was considered the control text until 1904, when the copy of Q1 now at the Folger Shakespeare Library was discovered in Sweden. Together with a 1594 printing of Henry VI, Part II , the Folger's Q1 Titus is the earliest extant printed Shakespearean play. Q2 also corrects a number of minor errors in Q1. Q3 is a further degradation of Q2, and includes
5350-501: The date of its composition is unknown. The prose was first published in chapbook form some time between 1736–1764 by Cluer Dicey under the title The History of Titus Andronicus, the Renowned Roman General (the ballad was also included in the chapbook), however it is believed to be much older than that. The copyright records from the Stationers' Register in Shakespeare's own lifetime provide some tenuous evidence regarding
5457-486: The dating of the prose. On 19 April 1602, the publisher Thomas Millington sold his share in the copyright of "A booke intitled a Noble Roman Historye of Tytus Andronicus" (which Danter had initially entered into the Register in 1594) to Thomas Pavier . The orthodox belief is that this entry refers to the play. The next version of the play to be published was for Edward White, in 1611, printed by Edward Allde , thus prompting
SECTION 50
#17328441278955564-424: The emperor. However, a messenger brings back Martius's and Quintus's severed heads, along with Titus's own severed hand. Desperate for revenge, Titus orders Lucius to flee Rome and raise an army among their conquered enemy, the Goths. Later, Lavinia writes the names of her attackers in the dirt, using a stick held with her mouth and between her arms. Meanwhile, Aaron is informed that Tamora has secretly given birth to
5671-438: The end of 1593, with the prospect of the theatres being reopened, and with the classical material still fresh in his mind, he wrote Titus as his first tragedy, shortly after reading Nashe's novel and Peele's poem, all of which suggests a date of composition of late 1593. Other critics have attempted to use more scientific methods to determine the date of the play. For example, Gary Taylor has employed stylometry , particularly
5778-577: The end of the progressive ideas of the Greeks and Romans. During the 18th century, the French and the British introduced humane treatment of the clinically insane, though the criteria for diagnosis and placement in an asylum were considerably looser than today, often including such conditions as speech disorder , speech impediments, epilepsy , and depression or being pregnant out of wedlock. Europe's oldest asylum
5885-402: The feast at his house, Titus asks Saturninus if a father should kill his daughter when she has been raped . When Saturninus answers that he should, Titus kills Lavinia and tells Saturninus of the rape. When the Emperor calls for Chiron and Demetrius, Titus reveals that they were baked in the pies Tamora has already been eating . Titus then kills Tamora and is immediately killed by Saturninus, who
5992-411: The final decision regarding the defendant's status regarding an insanity defense . In most jurisdictions within the United States, if the insanity plea is accepted, the defendant is committed to a psychiatric institution for at least 60 days for further evaluation, and then reevaluated at least yearly after that. Insanity is generally no defense in a civil lawsuit, but an insane plaintiff can toll
6099-461: The first century AD. In the mythology of Thyestes, which is the basis for Seneca's play, Thyestes , son of Pelops , King of Pisa , who, along with his brother Atreus , was exiled by Pelops for the murder of their half-brother, Chrysippus . They take up refuge in Mycenae and soon ascend to co-inhabit the throne. However, each becomes jealous of the other, and Thyestes tricks Atreus into electing him as
6206-414: The first major English author to write in this style, William Painter , who borrowed from, amongst others, Herodotus , Plutarch, Aulus Gellius , Claudius Aelianus , Livy, Tacitus , Giovanni Battista Giraldi , and Bandello himself. However, it is also possible to determine more specific sources for the play. The primary source for the rape and mutilation of Lavinia, as well as Titus' subsequent revenge,
6313-452: The forest before violently raping her. To keep her from revealing what has happened, they cut out her tongue and cut off her hands. Meanwhile, Aaron writes a forged letter , which frames Titus's sons Martius and Quintus for the murder of Bassianus. Horrified at the death of his brother, Saturninus arrests Martius and Quintus and sentences them to death . Some time later, Marcus discovers the mutilated Lavinia and takes her to her father, who
6420-506: The general term psychosis is used to include the presence of delusions and/or hallucinations in a patient; and psychiatric illness is " psychopathology ", not mental insanity . In English, the word "sane" derives from the Latin adjective sanus , meaning "healthy". Juvenal 's phrase mens sana in corpore sano is often translated to mean a "healthy mind in a healthy body". From this perspective, insanity can be considered as poor health of
6527-422: The historical figure of Tomyris , a violent and uncompromising Massagetae queen. Eugene M. Waith suggests that the name of Tamora's son, Alarbus, could have come from George Puttenham 's The Arte of English Poesie (1589), which contains the line "the Roman prince did daunt/Wild Africans and the lawless Alarbes." G. K. Hunter has suggested Shakespeare may have taken Saturninus's name from Herodian 's History of
SECTION 60
#17328441278956634-508: The illustration that "the gestures and costumes give us a more vivid impression of the visual impact of Elizabethan acting than we get from any other source." Far from being an acknowledged source of evidence however, the document has provoked varying interpretations, with its date in particular often called into question. The fact that the text reproduced in the drawing seems to borrow from Q1, Q2, Q3 and F1, while also inventing some of its own readings, further complicates matters. Additionally,
6741-533: The introduction to the 2001 edition of the play for the Penguin Shakespeare (edited by Sonia Massai), Jacques Berthoud agrees with Waith and settles on the initial prose-play-ballad sequence. In his 2006 revised edition for the New Cambridge Shakespeare , Alan Hughes also argues for the original prose-play-ballad hypothesis, but proposes that the source for the ballad was exclusively
6848-453: The latest possible date of composition is late 1593. One of the two known copies of the second edition of Titus Andronicus is a part of The University of Edinburgh Heritage Collection. This was donated by William Hog in 1700. In the 1860s this copy was lent to Shakespeare scholar and Collector James Orchard Halliwell-Phillips so he could make a facsimile. This arrangement, brokered by David Laing, eventually led to Halliwell-Phillips donating
6955-412: The latest." Berthoud believes this places the date of composition some time in 1591. Another theory is provided by Jonathan Bate, who finds it significant that Q1 lacks the "sundry times" comment found on virtually every sixteenth-century play; the claim on a title page that a play had been performed "sundry times" was an attempt by publishers to emphasise its popularity, and its absence on Q1 indicates that
7062-421: The middle of the 20th century, but it is still one of Shakespeare's least respected plays. Shortly after the death of the Roman emperor, his two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, quarrel over who will succeed him. Their conflict seems set to boil over into violence until a tribune , Marcus Andronicus, announces that the people's choice for the new emperor is his brother, Titus, who will shortly return to Rome from
7169-457: The mind did not differ from diseases of the body. Moreover, they saw mental and physical illness as a result of natural causes and an imbalance in bodily humors . Hippocrates frequently wrote that an excess of black bile resulted in irrational thinking and behavior. Romans made other contributions to psychiatry, in particular a precursor of some contemporary practice. They put forward the idea that strong emotions could lead to bodily ailments,
7276-411: The mind, not necessarily of the brain as an organ (although that can affect mental health), but rather refers to defective function of mental processes such as reasoning. Another Latin phrase related to our current concept of sanity is compos mentis ("sound of mind"), and a euphemistic term for insanity is non compos mentis . In law, mens rea means having had criminal intent, or a guilty mind, when
7383-486: The most famous of which was Isaac Ray in 1838 (fifth edition 1871); others include Ryan (1832), Taylor (1845), Wharton and Stille (1855), Ordronaux (1869), Meymott (1882). The typical techniques as outlined in these works are the background for Dr. Neil S. Kaye's widely recognized guidelines that indicate an attempt to feign insanity. One famous example of someone feigning insanity is Mafia boss Vincent Gigante , who pretended for years to be suffering from dementia, and
7490-408: The names of Caius, Demetrius, Marcus, Martius, Quintus, Æmilius, and Sempronius from Plutarch's Life of Scipio Africanus . Bassianus's name probably came from Lucius Septimius Bassianus , better known as Caracalla, who, like Bassianus in the play, fights with his brother over succession, one appealing to primogeniture and the other to popularity. Any discussion of the sources of Titus Andronicus
7597-440: The non-legal word for insanity, has been recognized throughout history in every known society. Some traditional cultures have turned to witch doctors or shamans to apply magic, herbal mixtures, or folk medicine to rid deranged persons of evil spirits or bizarre behavior, for example. Archaeologists have unearthed skulls (at least 7000 years old) that have small, round holes bored in them using flint tools. It has been conjectured that
7704-467: The nonsensical musings of Edgar's "poor Tom" heavily reference Samuel Harsnett's 1603 book, A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures . Tragedies from these eras traced their philosophical essence back to the Senecan tragedy , grounded in nobles who have a tragic flaw or commit a grave error ( hamartia ) which leads to their reversal of fortune ( peripeteia ). (However, some critics have argued that
7811-578: The offer of the throne, arguing that he is not fit to rule and instead supporting the claim of Saturninus, who then is duly elected. Saturninus tells Titus that for his first act as emperor, he will marry Titus's daughter Lavinia. Titus agrees, although Lavinia is already betrothed to Saturninus's brother, Bassianus, who refuses to give her up. Titus's sons tell Titus that Bassianus is in the right under Roman law , but Titus refuses to listen, accusing them all of treason . A scuffle breaks out, during which Titus kills his own son, Mutius. Saturninus then denounces
7918-402: The order is random and cannot be used to help date the play. As such, even amongst scholars who favour a post-1590 date, 1592 is by no means universally accepted. Jacques Berthoud, for example, argues that Shakespeare had close associations with Derby's Men and "it would seem that Titus Andronicus must already have entered the repertoire of Derby's Men by the end of 1591 or the start of 1592 at
8025-401: The part of the compositor. This is especially noticeable at the end of the play where four lines of dialogue have been added to Lucius' closing speech; "See justice done on Aaron, that damned Moor,/By whom our heavy haps had their beginning;/Then afterwards to order well the state,/That like events may ne'er it ruinate." Scholars tend to assume that when the compositor got to the last page and saw
8132-499: The people in their uprising was Lucius Junius Brutus. This is the role that Lucius fulfills in the play." The name of Lavinia was probably taken from the mythological figure of Lavinia , daughter of Latinus , King of Latium , who, in Virgil 's Aeneid , courts Aeneas as he attempts to settle his people in Latium. A. C. Hamilton speculates that the name of Tamora could have been based upon
8239-477: The play for the Arden Shakespeare 2nd Series, J.C. Maxwell argues for a date of late 1589. Similarly, E.A.J. Honigmann, in his 'early start' theory of 1982, suggests that Shakespeare wrote the play several years before coming to London c. 1590 , and that Titus was actually his first play, written c. 1586 . In his Cambridge Shakespeare edition of 1994 and again in 2006, Alan Hughes makes
8346-490: The play lapsed upon Danter's death in 1600, hence the 1602 transferral from Millington to Pavier was illegitimate unless it refers to something other than the play; i.e. the prose. Both scholars conclude that the evidence seems to imply the prose existed by early 1594 at the latest. However, even if the prose version existed in 1594, there is no solid evidence to suggest the order in which the play, ballad, and prose were written, and which served as source for which. Traditionally,
8453-548: The play originally belonged to Derby's Men, but after the closure of the London theatres on 23 June 1592 due to an outbreak of plague , Derby's Men sold the play to Pembroke's Men, who were going on a regional tour to Bath and Ludlow . The tour was a financial failure, and the company returned to London on 28 September, financially ruined. At that point, they sold the play to Sussex's Men, who would go on to perform it on 24 January 1594 at The Rose. If one accepts this theory, it suggests
8560-442: The play was published again for White, in 1611, under the slightly altered title The Most Lamentable Tragedie of Titus Andronicus , printed by Edward Allde (Q3). Q1 is considered a 'good text' (i.e. not a bad quarto or a reported text ), and it forms the basis for most modern editions of the play. Q2 appears to be based on a damaged copy of Q1, as it is missing a number of lines which are replaced by what appear to be guess work on
8667-493: The play was so new, it hadn't been performed anywhere. Bate also finds significance in the fact that prior to the rape of Lavinia, Chiron and Demetrius vow to use Bassianus' body as a pillow. Bate believes this connects the play to Thomas Nashe 's The Unfortunate Traveller , which was completed on 27 June 1593. Verbal similarities between Titus and George Peele's poem The Honour of the Garter are also important for Bate. The poem
8774-477: The play was the source for the prose, with both serving as sources for the ballad ( play-prose-ballad ). In his 1984 edition of the play for The Oxford Shakespeare , E.M. Waith rejects Hunter's theory and supports the original prose-play-ballad sequence. On the other hand, Jonathan Bate favours Mincoff's theory of play-ballad-prose , in his 1995 edition for the Arden Shakespeare (3rd series). In
8881-448: The play was written and performed by 1588 (Hughes), 1589 (Maxwell), 1591 (Berthoud), 1592 (Waith and Taylor), or 1593 (Bate), why did Henslowe refer to it as "ne" in 1594? R.A. Foakes and R.T. Rickert, modern editors of Henslowe's Diary , argue that "ne" could refer to a newly licensed play, which would make sense if one accepts Waith's argument that Pembroke's Men had sold the rights to Sussex's Men upon returning from their failed tour of
8988-453: The poem was also a source of the play ( prose-ballad-play ). Marco Mincoff rejects both theories, arguing instead that the play came first, and served as a source for both the ballad and the prose ( play-ballad-prose ). G.H. Metz felt that Mincoff was incorrect and reasserted the primacy of the prose-play-ballad sequence. G.K. Hunter however, believes that Adams, Dover Wilson, Bullough, Sargent, Mincoff, and Metz were all wrong, and
9095-440: The possibility of even staging the play, pointing out that In 1811, August Wilhelm Schlegel wrote that the play was In 1927, T. S. Eliot argued that it was In 1948, John Dover Wilson wrote that the play He goes on to say that if the play had been by anyone other than Shakespeare, it would have been lost and forgotten; it is only because tradition holds that Shakespeare wrote it (which Dover Wilson highly suspects) that it
9202-473: The primary source was probably an unnamed popular tale about a Moor's vengeance, published in various languages throughout the sixteenth century (an English version entered into the Stationers' Register in 1569 has not survived). In the story, a married nobleman with two children chastises his Moorish servant, who vows revenge. The servant goes to the moated tower where the man's wife and children live, and rapes
9309-433: The printer John Danter entered into the Stationers' Register "A booke intitled a Noble Roman Historye of Tytus Andronicus". Later in 1594, Danter published the play in quarto under the title The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus (referred to by scholars as Q1) for the booksellers Edward White and Thomas Millington, making it the first of Shakespeare's plays to be printed. This evidence establishes that
9416-423: The prose has been seen as the original, with the play derived from it, and the ballad derived from both play and prose. Adams, for example, firmly believed in this order ( prose-play-ballad ) as did John Dover Wilson and Geoffrey Bullough. This theory is by no means universally accepted however. For example, R.M. Sargent agrees with Adams and Bullough that the prose was the source of the play, but he argues that
9523-458: The prose, not the play. The earliest known record of Titus Andronicus is found in Philip Henslowe 's diary on 24 January 1594, where Henslowe recorded a performance by Sussex's Men of " Titus & ondronicus ", probably at The Rose . Henslowe marked the play as "ne", which most critics take to mean "new". There were subsequent performances on 29 January and 6 February. Also on 6 February,
9630-469: The prosecution's case such as general or specific intent. Each U.S. state differs somewhat in its definition of insanity but most follow the guidelines of the Model Penal Code . All jurisdictions require a sanity evaluation to address the question first of whether or not the defendant has a mental illness. Most courts accept a major mental illness such as psychosis but will not accept the diagnosis of
9737-447: The provinces. Foakes and Rickert also point out that "ne" could refer to a newly revised play, suggesting editing on Shakespeare's part some time in late 1593. Waith sees this suggestion as especially important insofar as John Dover Wilson and Gary Taylor have shown that the text as it exists in Q1 does seem to indicate editing. However, that "ne" does actually stand for "new" is not fully accepted; in 1991, Winifred Frazer argued that "ne"
9844-418: The question of why Pavier never published the play, despite having owned the copyright for nine years. J.Q. Adams believes that the original Danter entry in 1594 is not a reference to the play but instead to the prose version, and that the subsequent transferrals of copyright relate to the prose, not the play, explaining why the play was never published by Pavier. Similarly, Greg believes that all copyright to
9951-404: The rest of their bodies in a pie. At a reconciliatory feast, Atreus serves Thyestes the pie in which his sons have been baked. As Thyestes finishes his meal, Atreus produces the hands and heads, revealing to the horrified Thyestes what he has done. Another specific source for the final scene is discernible when Titus asks Saturninus if a father should kill his daughter when she has been raped. This
10058-557: The rule of James I , and their darker contents may reflect the general mood of the country following the death of Elizabeth I , as well as James's theatrical preferences. Shakespeare, as was customary for other playwrights in his day, used history, other plays, and non-dramatic literature as sources for his plays. Additionally, tragedy was a new and exciting theatrical phenomenon in the late 16th century, rather than an established and self-evident dramatic form; because of this, Shakespeare and his contemporaries' plays did not necessary fit into
10165-444: The sand, Shakespeare may have used a story from the first book of Metamorphoses ; the tale of the rape of Io by Zeus , where, to prevent her from divulging the story, he turns her into a cow. Upon encountering her father , she attempts to tell him who she is but is unable to do so until she thinks to scratch her name in the dirt using her hoof. Titus's revenge may also have been influenced by Seneca 's play Thyestes , written in
10272-476: The sole king. Determined to re-attain the throne, Atreus enlists the aid of Zeus and Hermes , and has Thyestes banished from Mycenae. Atreus subsequently discovers that his wife, Aerope , had been having an affair with Thyestes, and he vows revenge. He asks Thyestes to return to Mycenae with his family, telling him that all past animosities are forgotten. However, when Thyestes returns, Atreus secretly kills Thyestes's sons. He cuts off their hands and heads, and cooks
10379-537: The source of Shakespeare's Britain-based plays and Hamlet (based on the Danish Prince Amleth) derive from Holinshed's Chronicles . Furthermore, the French author Belleforest published The Hystorie of Hamblet, Prince of Denmarke in 1582, which includes specifics from how the prince pretended madness, to how the prince stabbed and killed the King's counsellor who was eavesdropping on Hamlet and his mother behind
10486-403: The spirits of Revenge , Murder , and Rape , respectively) approach Titus in order to persuade him to have Lucius remove his troops from Rome. Tamora (as Revenge ) tells Titus that she will grant him revenge on all of his enemies if he convinces Lucius to postpone the imminent attack on Rome. Titus agrees and sends Marcus to invite Lucius to a reconciliatory feast. Revenge then offers to invite
10593-417: The statute of limitations for filing a suit until gaining sanity, or until a statute of repose has run. Feigned insanity is the simulation of mental illness in order to deceive. Amongst other purposes, insanity is feigned in order to avoid or lessen the consequences of a confrontation or conviction for an alleged crime. A number of treatises on medical jurisprudence were written during the nineteenth century,
10700-467: The study of contractions , colloquialisms , rare words and function words . Taylor concludes that the entire play except Act 3, Scene 2 was written just after Henry VI, Part 2 and Henry VI, Part 3 , which he assigns to late 1591 or early 1592. As such, Taylor settles on a date of mid-1592 for Titus . He also argues that 3.2, which is only found in the 1623 Folio text, was written contemporaneously with Romeo and Juliet , in late 1593. However, if
10807-418: The subjects may have been thought to have been possessed by spirits that the holes would allow to escape. More recent research on the historical practice of trepanning supports the hypothesis that this procedure was medical in nature and intended as means of treating cranial trauma. The Greeks appeared to share something of the modern Western world's secular and holistic view, believing that afflictions of
10914-429: The time of the offense. For example, if the defendant was compelled by some aspect of their mental illness to commit the illegal act, the defendant could be evaluated as not in control of their behavior at the time of the offense. The forensic mental health specialists submit their evaluations to the court. Since the question of sanity or insanity is a legal question and not a medical one, the judge and or jury will make
11021-480: The wife. Her screams bring her husband, but the Moor pulls up the drawbridge before the nobleman can gain entry. The Moor then kills both children on the battlements in full view of the man. The nobleman pleads with the Moor that he will do anything to save his wife, and the Moor demands he cut off his nose. The man does so, but the Moor kills the wife anyway, and the nobleman dies of shock. The Moor then flings himself from
11128-516: Was often seen wandering aimlessly around his neighborhood in his pajamas muttering to himself. Testimony from informants and surveillance showed that Gigante was in full control of his faculties the whole time, and ruled over his Mafia family with an iron fist. Today feigned insanity is considered malingering . In a 2005 court case, United States v. Binion , the defendant was prosecuted and convicted for obstruction of justice (adding to his original sentence ) because he feigned insanity in
11235-485: Was only in the latter half of the 20th century that this pattern of denigration showed any signs of subsiding. One of the earliest critical disparagements of the play occurred in 1687, in the introduction to Edward Ravenscroft 's theatrical adaptation, Titus Andronicus, or the Rape of Lavinia. A Tragedy, Alter'd from Mr. Shakespeare's Works . Speaking of the original play, Ravenscroft wrote, In 1765, Samuel Johnson questioned
11342-726: Was the precursor of today's Bethlem Royal Hospital in London , known then as Bedlam , which began admitting the mentally ill in 1403 and is mentioned in Chaucer 's Canterbury Tales . The first American asylum was built in Williamsburg, Virginia , circa 1773. Before the 19th century, these hospitals were used to isolate the mentally ill or the socially ostracized from society rather than cure them or maintain their health. Pictures from this era portrayed patients bound with rope or chains, often to beds or walls, or restrained in straitjackets . Insanity
11449-482: Was written to celebrate the installation of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland as a Knight of the Garter on 26 June 1593. Bate takes these three pieces of evidence to suggest a timeline which sees Shakespeare complete his Henry VI trilogy prior to the closing of the theatres in June 1592. At this time, he turns to classical antiquity to aid him in his poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece . Then, towards
#894105