Titus Andronicus: The Oxford ShakespeareTitus Andronicus (The ^AOxford Shakespeare)

Beware of the Oxford World Classic editions. This is advertised as a 2008 publication when in fact it’s a reissue of the 1984 edition with new cover art. I was looking for a more modern analysis and commentary and was very disappointed to discover that it’s actually 36 years old.

Shakespeare, in his extreme youth, worked in a theater system that could well be compared to the "studio system" of Hollywood film in the Thirties. He made a whole tour of the popular genres when he started out. There was a fad for gore, and Shakespeare seems to have been assigned to do the Elizabethan version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If Tom Stoppard were assigned to write Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, it would probably turn out this badly. Shakespeare's too smart, too talented and he keeps trying to find Meaning or at least Poetry in this shlock. Sometimes he seems to get bored and make fun of the whole genre, overdoing it on purpose. It says a lot that once he was his own man he never wrote another one of these again.

great shipping time I was very pleased. the book itself is in amazing condition almost lie new I was very happy with it. there was scribbling in some pages but honestly they were helpful so I'm actually glad and grateful for the notes on the margin. overall very happy with the book.

Good book, it came in good condition, buy it!

I enjoyed the book. I highly recommend this book to Shakespeare lovers!

I was so happy when i got this book its Great..looked brand new came in the mail faster than i expected

Exactly what I was looking for and then some. Thank you !

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This is a nice, small sized book with a matte finish cover that feels high quality. It will come in very handy for carrying to classes and revision sessions.I bought this for my open book exam, so I wish I had read a bit more into the details of this book as it has a large introduction section that might render it useless if I am now allowed to take it in! But other than that, the pages feel high quality and it's a good book for annotating in as the pen doesn't go through to the other side, which can be distracting.

This edition of one of the cruellest and earliest Roman Tragedies of Shakespeare is, in my opinion, worth the little price tag.Plenty of notes for studying but not too much to hinder the leisurely reader, if any Shakespeare's play can be read in that manner...Excellent though. 5 stars!

Interesting book.

ahh. what a play!

I'mnot exactly a Shakespeare buff, but after reading Titus I got way more into him. The play tells the story of a Roman general who retruns to his beloved city a war hero, having in his captivity the queen of the Goths, Tamora. What follows is a series of various conflicts, mainly based around avenging wrongs done to familmembers,which in turn provoke more extreme responses. Certainly one of Shakespeare's most violent and blooody plays, Titus involves rape, severe mutilation like something out of a Saw movie, and a particularly murderous final act. The language is in Shakespeare's usual eloqent style, but I didn't finish it with certain parts of dialogue sticking in my mind, like some of his other iconic plays have. Titus is much more about the visuals, with unparallel onstage violence. Yet the audience can still relate to characters who perform the horrific acts upon one another, making it one of Shakespeare's best psychological plays, as each character has a complex mentality and the audience may find themselves easily to empathise even with the villainous characters. It also contains one of the most purely evil antagonists in literature, whose only regret at the end was that he could have done much worse. As Shakespeare's plays are either comedies or tragedies, and this one sure as hell ain't a comedy, you know exactly where it's heading, but the road it takes you down to get there is a darkly compelling one. I read the Oxford version of this, which has excellent notes at the bottom of each page on how to read and perform the play, so I would recommend anyone interested to get the Oxford version. To sum up, it is a masterful play of visual intrigue which pushes the very boundaries of theatre, and sticks two fingers up to the stereotype of everyone dying offstage and being carried back on. If you like Shakespeare, or even just reading, try Titus.