Titus Andronicus (Penguin Shakespeare) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141019662 ISBN 13: 9780141019666

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2005

Synopsis

His extraordinarily gory and spectacularly violent revenge tragedy, William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus is edited by Sonia Massai, with an introduction by Jacques Berthoud in Penguin Shakespeare.

'Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand'

Rome is in turmoil. With the Emperor dead, his two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, quarrel over who should succeed him; but neither are as popular as the general Titus Andronicus, returned to Rome victorious after a ten-year campaign, with Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three sons as his prisoners. Eschewing the throne, he endorses Saturninus as successor, and sacrifices the Queen's son Alarbus in memory of his own, lost in the war. But when the new emperor spurns Titus's amity and chooses Tamora for his wife, she quickly begins to plot a murderous revenge of barely conceivable cruelty.

This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Titus Andronicus, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English.

If you enjoyed Titus Andronicus, you might like Macbeth, also available in Penguin Shakespeare.

'This is tragedy naked, godless and unredeemed'
Kenneth Tynan

About this title

About the Author:

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), dramatist, man of the theatre, and poet. He became involved in the theatre in his local Stratford-upon-Avon and later in London where he gained fame as a playwright, writing comedies, romances, and tragedies.
Jacques Berthoud was Professor of English at the University of York. Sonia Massai teaches English at St Mary's University College Twickenham. Stanley Wells is Chairman of the Shakespeare Centre in Stratford and editor of the New Penguin Shakespeare series.

Sonia Massai is a Lecturer at King's College London. She has edited Titus Andronicus (New Penguin), The Wise Woman of Hoxton (Globe Quartos), and a collection of essays on World Wide
Shakespeares (Routledge). Her current projects include a book on Shakespeare and the Rise of English Drama in Print.

Synopsis:

An embittered Roman General returns from war, having captured the Queen of the Goths and her three sons. Sacrificing the eldest, in memory of his own sons killed in battle, he provokes the queen's unending hatred. And when she is made empress by the new emperor of Rome, she quickly begins to plot a murderous revenge of barely conceivable cruelty.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0141019662
• ISBN 13: 9780141019666
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 288