"Titus Andronicus" (Arden Shakespeare) - Hardcover

Shakespeare, William

3.68

31,067 ratings by Goodreads

9780416472806: "Titus Andronicus" (Arden Shakespeare)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 041647280X ISBN 13: 9780416472806

Publisher: The Arden Shakespeare, 1961

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After centuries of vilification and neglect by both scholars and actors, Titus Andronicus has at last come to be recognized as one of Shakespeare's early masterpieces. In this powerful and ground-breaking edition, Bate offers a complete and radical reappraisal of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedy, seeing it as one of the dramatist's most inventive plays, a complex and self-conscious improvisation upon classical sources. Bate's introduction does full justice to the play's artfulness and sophistication, puts forward new arguments regarding the play's date, sources and early stage history, and devotes extended discussion to great modern productions such as those of Peter Brook and Deborah Warner.In an age in which dramatic representation of violence has become an issue of enormous controversy, Titus Andronicus is the essential play; Bate's seminal edition indicates just how far, with this early work, the young Shakespeare has already travelled towards the masterpiece of his maturity, King Lear.'a great edition of a great play'Julie Taymor, Director TITUS, 20th Century Fox, 1999"Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance...putting a vigorous account of Titus on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism." John Jowett, Shakespeare Survey'impressive and exciting'Barry Gaines, University of New Mexico, Shakespeare Quarterly'This is an outstanding edition of Titus, especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions'Dr P Hartle, St Catherines College, Cambridge

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Review:

Shakespeare's most violent and gory play, Titus Andronicus was written in 1592, and represents the dramatist's first foray into the popular genre of revenge tragedy (many editors argue with at least one other collaborator). The result was spectacular, including scenes of murder, human sacrifice, rape, bodily mutilation and cannibalism. Set in late-imperial Rome, the action begins with the Roman general Titus Andronicus and his triumphant return from wars with the Goths. Leading Queen Tamora and her sons as prisoners, Titus stumbles into a power struggle between Saturninus and his brother Bassianus. Titus fatally backs Saturninus, who rapidly turns on the old general and marries Tamora. The implications for the Andronicus family are disastrous. More of Titus' sons are killed, his daughter Lavinia is brutally raped by Tamora's sons, and as Titus begins his descent into madness and despair he even has his own hand cut off in an act of awful trickery. As Titus plots his bloody revenge, he reflects that "Rome is but a wilderness of tigers". The ending is one of the most gruesome conclusions to any dramatic tragedy, and leaves Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs looking quite restrained. Although the play has put audiences off for centuries due to its apparently gratuitous violence, more recently critics have discerned something more to it than pure shock, but that might say more about us than the Elizabethans. .--Jerry Brotton

Review:

"This is an outstanding edition of "Titus", especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions."--Dr. Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge "Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance . . . putting a vigorous account of "Titus" on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism."--John Jowett, "Shakespeare Survey"

"This is an outstanding edition of "Titus," especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions."--Dr. Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge "Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance . . . putting a vigorous account of "Titus" on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism."--John Jowett, "Shakespeare Survey"

This is an outstanding edition of "Titus," especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions. "Dr. Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge"

Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance . . . putting a vigorous account of "Titus" on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism. "John Jowett, Shakespeare Survey""

This is an outstanding edition of Titus, especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions. Dr. Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge

Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance . . . putting a vigorous account of Titus on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism. John Jowett, Shakespeare Survey

"This is an outstanding edition of Titus, especially for its treatment of textual questions and of recent performance history. It supersedes all previous editions." --Dr. Paul Hartle, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge

"Bate makes a really positive virtue of his treatment of the play in performance . . . putting a vigorous account of Titus on stage at very stage-centre in his Introduction. Using this section as a means for raising fundamental questions as to the play's style, coherence, and meaning, Bate achieves a remarkable fusion between performance history and criticism." --John Jowett, Shakespeare Survey

My students loved reading and discussing the play and found the extensive notes and introduction very helpful. Surprisingly, Titus Andronicus is turning out to be a new students' favourite.
Maria Fleischhack, Leipzig University, Germany

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