Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Titus Andronicus: Revised Edition

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Titus Andronicus: Revised Edition by William Shakespeare

8 reviews

amotoquinha's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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raye_charlie's review against another edition

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3.5

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kygpub's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this play is fucking exhausting. somehow, that is a good thing.

okay. to be frank, a lot of things about this suck. misogyny and racism run rampant. characters get put on stage without logic or justification (

what were lavinia and bassanius even doing there?

). all but 3 of them have something utterly hateable about them. but i can't bring myself to hate the play itself. it's too interesting of a historical case study, too crafty in its machinations, too utterly outrageous in the lengths it is willing to go to elicit the reaction it desires. it's probably blasphemy to prefer this to the greats of tragedy, but i've never been a fan of supernatural horror and this fell right in my niche: overt classical references, revenges that actually come to fruition, and buckets upon buckets of blood. borders on too nasty for its own good (for other people i'm sure it crosses that line entirely); for me, it pulls enough punches to make it bearable—if, as i said, exhausting.

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unrealpunk's review against another edition

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dark

1.75

I didn't know Shakespeare could be this bad

Wow, it's hard to believe this is really Shakespeare. You can definitely see some similar elements to the great tragedies in terms of plot and structure, but there is very little to recommend this play on its own merits. The bard's normally captivating language is mostly flat, with some lines that barely scan, especially toward the beginning and end of the play. Worse, the humanitarian spirit is also missing, and the way events play out brings the phrase "all edge and no point" to mind, especially the end. But the edgy violence is practically endearing compared to the anti-black racism, which is really extremely bad in a way that makes Othello look progressive. Anyone who wants to avoid very direct authentic 16th century anti-blackness should probably avoid this.

Supposedly this was one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and I can definitely believe it; I wouldn't be surprised if it was his very first — a learning experience. You could compare the egregious racism in Titus to the egregious misogyny in Taming of the Shrew, another early play, and perhaps chalk it up to a juvenile ignorance soon to be outgrown; but even Taming of the Shrew is a showcase for Shakespeare's literary virtuosity, and by the time he had written other early plays, such as the Henry VI histories, he was a fully mature master. So give the guy credit for his rapid improvement, but as for the play itself, all but the completists should skip this one.

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